On That Road Again
by NobodyLights
Summary: Roxas and Namine decided to end their Spring Break early by going to Traverse Town and want Sora and Kairi to come. Sora and Kairi aren't on good terms with each other, but what happens when they're stuck on an 11 hour car trip together?
1. Take Off

**On That Road Again**

**Summary: **Roxas and Namine decided to end their Spring Break early by going to Traverse Town and want Sora and Kairi to come. Sora and Kairi aren't on good terms with each other, but what happens when they're stuck on an 11 hour road trip together?

**A/N: **So I thought that I should make a multi-chapter one this time and I'm really excited. :D So yeah! Read and review! The idea came to me really randomly so bare with me. XD

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Although, it WOULD be pretty awesome bahah. ANYWAY.

"No! I don't know what the value of X is!" Kairi screeched as she threw her Algebra 2 textbook across the room. What was the point of giving homework during spring break? Her friend, Namine, wasn't there to help her with the homework, so Kairi thought that she should just quit her homework for the night.

Kairi slammed her head into her pillow and sighed as she looked up to the ceiling. It wasn't until now that she realized she still had the glow in the dark stars above her on her ceiling. She laughed to herself. The glow must have faded otherwise she would have noticed them in the dark.

It was spring break and she was alone in her dormitory for the rest of the break. Namine and her boyfriend Roxas had left to go see their friends Olette, Hayner, and Pence back in Twilight Town which was on the other side of the world. Kairi thought she'd give the couple some space and let them hang out with their old friends. She couldn't hang out with her other friends, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka because they left for an amusement park and wouldn't be back for a couple of days. That only left one person, and she cringed at the thought.

"Kaiiiriiiii!" A voice on the other side of her door sang. Kairi groaned and rolled her eyes. "What do you want?" She asked annoyed. "You." At this, she opened the door.

"You're not funny, you know?" Kairi spatted at boy in front of her.

"Sure I am," Sora smiled widely. "Again, what do you want?" This time Kairi was going crazy. Sora was now grinning widely, like he was hiding something. "Didn't you get Namine's call?"

Kairi's face fell. "Wh-what call?" As if the irony was looking down on her, Kairi's cell phone started dancing on the table next to her bed. She glared at Sora while picking up the phone as Sora started to laugh. _Why does he keep grinning and laughing? _Kairi thought.

"Hello?" She answered. "Hey, Kairi!" Kairi saw Sora looking through her computer drawer as she was on the phone. "Sora! Have you ever heard of the word 'privacy'?" Sora snickered as he closed the drawer, grabbed a pencil, and started to draw on a piece of paper.

"Um.. Huh?" Namine asked confused. "Sorry, Nam. Sora's here in the dorm and he's being a nuisance." Sora frowned at this and continued to draw. "Oh, great… Sora's there… Um. There's something I need to ask of you."

"Anything!" Kairi cheered.

"Well… Don't kill Sora once I ask you, okay?" Namine sheepishly said. "Oh my God, Namine. What did he do?"

"Nothing! I just… Alright I'll just ask you. Roxas and I are going to leave Twilight Town early and we're going to Traverse Town. I wanted you to come." Namine was squeezing Roxas' hand in the process. "Um, hun, you can lose the grip?" Roxas' voice squeaked. Namine gave him an apologetic look and let go. Kairi started to laugh at both Roxas and the question.

"That's sounds fun! Kind of a long drive, but you know that I don't have a license or a car right now, right?" Kairi asked confused. "That's the point. You'll have to ride with-" Namine was cut off. "NO! Absolutely not! Do you WANT me to go insane? Might as well lock me up in a straight jacket. That would be a little more bearable."

"Come on! Please, Kairi? This is a great chance for you and Sora to finally get on good terms with each other," Namine begged. Kairi looked over at Sora and he grinned as he drew. Of course he knew. He just wanted to torture her.

"Namine, it is an 11 hour drive. Do you expect to drive that long with him?" Kairi twitched. She saw Sora in front of her and he grabbed her phone. "Um, what do you think you're doing?"

"She'll go. We'll leave at the crack of dawn and be there by at least 5 o'clock. I'll see you two later." There were flames in Kairi's eyes as he closed her cell phone and smiled at her.

"WHO SAID I WANTED TO GO?"

"Um, you, like two minutes ago. Start packing, I'll wake you up at 4 AM." Sora said seriously. "And what makes you think you'll be up before me? I was always the one who had to call you every morning just to make sure you were up," Kairi reminisced. She didn't mean to say it, it just slipped out.

"Do you miss those times?" Sora forwarded flirtatious eyes towards Kairi as she showed no expression. "O-of course not." He started to walk closer when she interrupted him. "Um, 4 AM. Got it. Let the nightmare begin." Sora smirked, shook his head, and headed for the door. "Well I do."

Kairi had no idea what he meant, but it hit her when she remembered the question he just asked.

* * *

As Sora walked outside to his Jeep with keys in hand, he noticed that it was unusual to be leaving when the sun wasn't even out yet. He had two bags of luggage in his arms and swung them in the back of the jeep. They were scooted all the way into the corner, leaving room for Kairi's endless amount of luggage, he guessed. But the question was, where was Kairi? _You've got to be kidding me. She was suppose to meet me at my car 10 minutes ago. She cannot still be asleep. _Sora annoyingly thought in his head.

He walked up to her dorm room and knocked. Kairi wasn't the one to leave someone hanging at the door, so she was obviously asleep. Sora waited two more minutes, and went to the last result which would probably end up getting a slap in the arm later. He lifed up the 'Welcome' mat near her door, grabbed the spare key, and unlocked the door.

Sora made careful that he made no noise, even though she was suppose to be awake. He looked straight ahead, and saw Kairi curled up with her blankets on her side. Sora chuckled to himself and walked over to the bed. He kneeled down, and just watched her sleep. _She looks so peaceful… I can't just wake her… _He took a deep breath.

"Kairi." No answer. "Kaiiiii. It's time to get up. Roadtrip time!" He yelled in a whisper. She groaned, and he knew exactly what it was towards. Sora was careful, but he took his hand, and wiped a piece of her crimson hair and put it behind her ear. "And you said I was the one who needed to wake up." Sora laughed. An idea popped in his head.

Sora took Kairi's blanket, wrapped it completely around her tiny body, and proceeded with caution. He took one arm and put it under her legs, and the other under her back and lifted her up slowly. She was like a feather to him. He made sure not to wake her up, and proceeded to his car.

Sora was extra careful as he placed her down in the front seat, making her comfortable. Kairi's luggage (which was more than 5 bags) were in the back already stored. It's almost as if Sora knew this would happen, but hey, it's Kairi. You never know what to expect. Sora was surprised he even made it to the car without Kairi yelling for help.

The key was in the ignition. "Alright, let the 11 hour what you call 'nightmare' begin." Sora said to Kairi, but she was already in another world of her own.

__

"Sora, we should really get going. We have a lot to do today." She couldn't think while Sora was seducing her with his eyes.

It was a lazy Saturday morning, and it was a week before school started. The couple hadn't done any school shopping yet, and today was one of their only chances to do so. But the two lied on the couch, face to face, lips inches away from each other.

"Let's just stay here, Kairi. I don't feel like going anywhere today. I just want to be with you. Right now." He was now caressing her cheek as he held her tighter. Kairi giggled, "I wish we could stay here all day, but we have to get stuff done today."

"Are you sure we have to?" As Kairi was about to speak, Sora's lips met hers. She slowly closed her eyes as she got more into the kiss. It was light, but still passionate. Kairi knew when to stop herself, though. "Come on, Sora. Shop now, kiss later." Sora frowned at first, but smiled. "I like the way you think. Which is why I lo-"

Kairi's memory dream was interrupted as the car she was in hit a halting stop. Her seatbelt stopped her, but it still woke her. "What the hell, Sora?" Kairi yelled tiredly.

"I'm sorry! This jerk in front of me stopped at the green light. Who does that?" Sora had his arm resting on the door, and his palm against his face with the other on the steering wheel. He was obviously tired. Kairi rubbed her eyes furiously, and looked outside. The sun was almost up.

"How long have we been driving?"

Sora laughed. "We? I'm the one who's driving. Knowing you, you'd probably not even put my seatbelt on if I was sleeping. And unlucky for you, only about 45 minutes."

"That's 45 minutes less with you." She then looked at her body; she was wrapped in her favorite blanket that she's had since she was a child. It had a bunch of teddy bears on it, but she didn't care if people made fun of her for it. The blanket use to have a blue background to it, but she's had it so long that the color wore out. She also noticed she was still wearing her pajamas which consisted of very short shorts and a hot pink tank top. Kairi blushed at the site, feeling exposed. She noticed that Sora was already dressed; shady blue jeans, a plain red hoodie (which made his hair a mess causing Kairi to laugh), and his usual black Converse.

"D-did you carry me to the car?"

"Sorry, sue me." Sora rolled his eyes. "And you might want to make sure what you say before you say it out loud. I was awake before you, Kairi. What'd you do, pull an all nighter just to prove me wrong?"

"I was TRYING to finish my math homework, thank you very much. I'm sure you've already finished it?" Kairi joked.

"Actually, I did. The only subject I have trouble with Chemistry." He grinned. Kairi's jaw dropped._ How could he have finished it before me? _"And I made sure it was that blanket instead of your comforter. I know how disappointed you would have been if you didn't bring Fred with you," he said as he smirked. Kairi glared at him as she clutched her favorite blanket. "Surprised you remembered," she murmured as she looked out the window.

"I would never forget."

* * *

**OH SNAP. SORA AND KAIRI HAVE A PAST. XD**

I might update in a couple of days since I have no life whatsoever, but it might be even later because my mom's birthday is on Saturday and I might PARTAY IT UP. But I'll update soon, I promise that. :)

ENJOY.


	2. Toilets and TShirts

"I WANT YOUR LOVE AND I WANT YOUR REVENGE YOU AND ME COULD WRITE A BAD ROMANCE! TAKE IT AWAY, KAIRI!" Sora sang loudly as he blasted the car. Kairi was only looking at him annoyed and turned down the music. "You ruin everything."

"Sorry if I don't want cars passing by and thinking you're a lunatic," Kairi exclaimed. "So you care?" Sora grinned. "Actually, no, so go ahead and make a fool out of yourself." Kairi pulled a book out of her bag, and started to read.

"Kairi. Really? It's Spring Break and you're reading?" Sora looked at her as though she was crazy. "There's nothing wrong with reading."

"Mhm, right." Sora rolled his eyes.

The sun finally came out and shined in both of their eyes. Sora hated driving in the dark, so he didn't mind the sun. "Why doesn't your car have a visors on the roof? Do you LIKE being blind?" Kairi said annoyed. "Well sorry! The last time Axel was in the car he said he LIKED the sun in his eyes and ripped the visors off. That's just… how he is." Sora made a face, and then went back to driving. "I didn't want him ripping my head off if I did anything to him."

Kairi snorted. "Like you could." Sora glared at her, "You would, Hikari. You would."

The next song that came on was a rap song, and neither of them liked that genre, so Sora changed the station while keeping his eyes on the road while Kairi was focused on her book. Sora though he'd never focus on one station, until a certain song came on.

They both froze when Sanctuary by Utada Hikaru had come on the radio. Kairi and Sora's eyes were looking straight forward, Kairi suddenly not interested in the book anymore. She was expecting Sora to change the channel, but his hand slowly left the tuner, and went back to the steering wheel.

Kairi looked at him from the corner of her eye, and Sora had a confused look on his face. She was surprised he hadn't changed the station yet. "_Where fears and lies, melt away…_"

By now, Kairi was feeling tension in the air and was feeling a little bit uncomfortable. She reached for the tuner, but before she could change it, Sora's hand stopped her. Kairi blushed as their hands stayed there.

"Don't… I.. like that song." He coughed. They let go of their hands at the same time. "Um… okay."

"_Sora, I hate dancing, you know that." Kairi whined. "Come on, it's the end of the year dance. We have to. Just follow my lead and it'll be easy. I promise." Sora begged. Kairi almost denied his request, until she looked up and saw him pouting. She burst out laughing._

"_You look ridiculous, you know that, right?" She took Sora's hand. "Anything to get a first dance with you."_

_Kairi put her arms around Sora's neck, and until now, she never realized how much taller he was than her. His chin was to her nose! _

"_Kairi, this will be our song." She listened more closely at the lyrics, smiled, and rested her head on his chest. They swayed to the song, savoring the moment they had in each others arms. Sora started to lightly sing the words into her ears, seducing her on the spot. Kairi knew he was a great singer, but even at the quietest, he was amazing._

"_We'll be together forever, Kairi," Sora whispered in her ear. _

"_And how can you be so sure?" She now looked in his piercing blue eyes. "Because I'll make sure nothing happens. You're my everything." All she could do was nod, and close her eyes and as he leaned in to kiss her forehead. The song had reached it's end: Where fears and lies, melt away, music inside, what's left of me, what's left of me now…_

Sora came back to reality, and stopped at the red light. "Bravo, Sora. You didn't screech to a halt this time. I think that deserves a round of applause, everybody!" Kairi started clapping to herself. Sora glared. "I'm the only one in the car, and my driving is probably better than yours anyway."

"Oh ho really? There would be a 90 year-old in the middle of the street and you'd STILL be trying to find a song to listen to on the radio." Kairi snapped. "Oh yeah, let's make fun of me when you're the one who doesn't even have a license!"

"Hey! I'm working on it!" Kairi crossed her arms and looked out the windows. "What, is there a drivers manual secretly stored in the book you're reading?" Sora tried to contain his laughter.

"Oh my, God, Sora. You are so hilarious. I'm dying here. Really." Kairi had a straight face on. "Hey, Ms. Sarcastic, I'm just saying." She rolled her eyes. She went to cross her legs, but then realized she still had her pajamas on and blushed madly out how revealing her legs were.

"Um, Sora?"

"Yes, mayor of Sarcastic Town?"

"Okay, I'm gonna pretend I never heard that. And what I was going to say before you decided to be a 5 year old again-" she was interrupted. "Ouch. Right in here." He pounded his heart. Kairi gave him a look that could kill. "Carry on."

"AS I was saying, can we pull up to a gas station or something? I don't feel very… comfortable in these clothes." Sora grinned. "You seemed comfortable in them when-"

"Shut up. Just shut up." Sora was now amused. "Okay fine, there's a gas station at the next left. Calm down." Kairi almost said 'thank you' but she didn't feel he deserved it after that last remark.

Kairi thanked the Heavens that the song on the radio was finally over so that she didn't have to sit through any more awkward. She huffed, and put out, "… I can drive." Sora shook his head and turn the car to the left while driving.

"Sure."

Well, for one thing, the gas station was completely unsanitary. It looked like someone died ages ago at the gas pumps, and quite frankly she was afraid to even go in the bathrooms. Sora put up his hands in defense, "Hey, you said to go to the nearest gas station." Kairi had a worried look on her face, and proceeded to grab fresh clothes from the back of the jeep. She grabbed some ripped short shorts and a neon pink top that flowed over her stomach.

"Sora, I know as much as you want to, try and not leave me while I'm in there, huh?" She pleaded. "Oh gosh, I'll try my best, Kai." Sora put the back of his hand on his forehead dramatically and clenched his heart. Kairi shook her head and headed for the bathroom.

"Oh, she's a keeper." Sora noticed a scruffy guy who looked as though he's worn the same clothes for weeks. "Oh, trust me. She is."

"Haven't these people ever heard of soap?" Kairi made a face at how bathroom. The sink had old molding around the edges, and she didn't even want to sit on toilet even if it had 3 sheets of toilet sheets on the rim. Plus, to add that touch of creepy, the lights flickered. "I feel so safe," Kairi said to no one but herself.

She made sure to keep her shoes on so she wouldn't have to touch the floor as she took her tank and her shorts off. Just as she was about to put on the tank top, she saw something in the corner of her eye. 3 giant cockroaches were 2 feet away from her feet. She gasped inwards, until words finally came out.

"Oh… oh… OH MY GOD." Kairi didn't even pay attention to what she did with her clothes. She just grabbed her teddy bear blanket, wrapped it around her body that only consisted of a bra and the short shorts she had just put on, and ran out screaming. "SORA SORA SORA SORA SORA SORA SORA!" She screeched.

Sora was pumping the gas in his jeep, but once he saw that she was only wrapped in her blanket, that wasn't a fair statement anymore. He immediately put the pump back in it's place and ran towards her. "What the hell, Kairi?" She kept pointing at the bathroom, but couldn't speak. "Kairi, I don't do charades. You gotta tell me."

"There… th-there are c-cockroaches in th-there…" Kairi was still trying to catch her breath. She was not good with huge bugs. At all. Sora's lip quivered as he started to laugh. "SORA! Come on, you gotta help me!"

"Oh, what, you finally need my help?" She nodded shaking. "Kai, do you see yourself?" She looked down and blushed as her body was barely covered by the blanket. Sora shook his head. "Do you want me to grab your top for you?" Kairi blushed even more. "What is the matter with you?"

"My top…" she looked at the ground embarrassed. "My top fell in the toilet."

Sora was now on his knees having his side burst in pain as he laughed. "Sora, unless you want your manhood to stay safe, I suggest you stop laughing." He got straight up and looked at her seriously, his eyes glistening from laughing. "It was also the only shirt I packed. I was going to go shopping with Namine in Traverse town for more clothes."

"You want one of MY shirts?" She didn't keep eye contact with him, but she nodded. "Then what the hell was with all of the luggage bags?"

"It's gonna be hot this weekend and I packed a bunch of dresses and a bunch of Namine's clothes!" Sora gave her one of those, "Really?" faces, and walked over to his car to grab one of his shirts. Kairi looked around awkwardly, and noticed the guy looking at her. She gave him a smile that pretty much said, "blow off."

"Here's a shirt."

"… This one? Really?" She put a hand on her hip. "Kairi, do you want to go on the car trip in just your bra? I don't think so." Kairi yanked the shirt from him. "I am NOT changing in that bathroom, so just… Don't look." Sora blinked, "Tempting." She glared. "I'm gonna change from the back of the building." Sora rolled his eyes and started walking, until Kairi grabbed his shirt by the collar and brought him close. _Well, this brings me back…_

"MAKE SURE that guy does NOT get up from his chair, thanks." Sora terrifyingly nodded, and ran to his car. Kairi laughed at the thought that she scared him.

From the back, Kairi threw on Sora's t-shirt and laughed at how long it was. It went past her shorts. She looked down at the pattern again. The t-shirt was a navy blue, and had a key with music notes running along the side of it. It was her favorite shirt that he wore.

Kairi shook her head at her thoughts, and went back to the front of the building. The Jeep was already out of the parking lot and pulled up along the driveway, ready to go. Kairi ran to the car, and jumped in the front seat.

"Um… thanks. For the shirt."

"Good." She gave him a small smile. "I know that it's your favorite, anyway," Sora murmured silently. "What was that?"

"Absolutelynothingcheesepuff?" He said all into one word and shoved the bag in her face as she declined. "Did you buy those at the gas station?"

"Yeah. Why?" He asked as he chewed. She gave him a look, waiting for him to realize. His chewing became slower, and his face was disgusted. "Oh my, God." Sora rolled down the window, threw the bag of cheese puffs outside the window, and spit out all of the food that was in his mouth. Kairi's face looked disgusted.

He looked back at her, and they stared at each other for about 30 seconds before the two started to bust out laughing.

_Wow, me and him are actually laughing. Together. No Kairi! Stop thinking that way! _

"Well… let's just hope I don't catch a disease from THAT, otherwise you'd be the one driving, which no one wants." Kairi glared at him and continued to curl up in her seat, roll down the window, and rest her arms outside of the window, her hair flowing in the wind. She frowned at the song playing.

_Who do you think you are? Going around leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts, and tearing love apart. You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. So don't come back for me…_

"_Who do you think you are?" Kairi sang the last bit, and watched the morning sun behind mountains. _

_Sora looked at the girl worried, but something forced him to change the subject. "Uh…Breakfast, anyone?"_


	3. Unwanted and Unwelcomed

"What is this?" Kairi's face looked confused. "Breakfast."

Sora grabbed his wallet and headed for the horrible excuse for a breakfast stop. The front logo looked as though it was drawn by a 2 year old. It had a pancake that wore a hat and had a face; it wasn't even a happy face. It was wearing a straight face. "Um, alright."

"Welcome to Happy Cakes," the miserable waitress who wore an unflattering black dress. It was turtle neck and went past her knees. No detail at all, actually. At the title of the restaurant and the way she said it, Sora snorted which earned an elbow in the stomach from Kairi. "You may have to wait for a table. Oh hey there's a table follow me." Her 'enthusiastic' comment was towards the entirely empty building.

"Here's your menu," the waitress threw the menus on the table, and left. "You've been such a great help, thank you so much. I'll have to recommend you for future purposes," Sora said seriously, even though a pound of sarcasm was hidden behind. The waitress rolled her eyes and continued walking. "I think she loves her job." Kairi ignored him.

She couldn't lie, Kairi felt kind of awkward in his t-shirt. She felt like she was wearing him or something.

"The usual for you?" Sora asked, still looking at the menu. Kairi raised her eyebrow. "What usual?"

"Two pieces of French Toast, one has one strawberry, and the other has 5 blueberries, and a glass of chocolate milk?" He said it as though it was no big deal. "W-what? H-how do you know that?"

"Kai, I made you breakfast every Saturday. I think I'd remember." Kairi almost choked on her water, and set it down. She couldn't take it anymore.

"I… I think I'm going to sit over there." Sora's face turned to worry as she took her menu and left on the other side of the restaurant. He felt kind of… hurt.

_I can't believe he remembers that… _Kairi thought to herself, pretending to focus on the menu.

_As Kairi lied on her couch, teddy bear blanket wrapped around her body, she slept soundly until a voice woke her. _

"_Kairi." She groaned and didn't want to wake up. "Kairi, what time did you go to bed watching movies last night this time?" Kairi tiredly held up 3 fingers, Sora assumed she meant 3 in the monring. He laughed and shook his head. "I didn't want you to miss breakfast this morning, so rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty." _(**A/N: **LOL no pun intended on the Princess thing. :P)

_Sora put both of his hands under her arms and sat her up straight. Kairi's hair was a mess, and there was a streak of eyeliner across her cheek. "Would you open your eyes?"_

_She slowly opened them up and Sora stole a quick kiss from her, putting a delicious meal in front of her. "Oh my, God I'm awake now." She snatched the fork out of Sora's hands and grabbed the plate. It was her favorite meal; French Toast, one strawberry on one piece, and 5 blueberries on the other. Sora put his arm around her shoulders as she ate and asked, "So how many movies did you watch last night?"_

"_At first I only watched 3, but then I realized I had nothing to do this summer so I just watched 3 more." Kairi said as though it was no big deal. "Let me guess. Hmmm… three of them were horror movies, two of them were chick flicks, and the other one was a Disney movie?"_

"_You know me so well." Kairi took another bite and moaned, "Have I ever told you how great your cooking is?"_

"_No, you haven't." Sora said. "Oh, well, to be honest, it's not that great, but this breakfast is awesome." Sora looked offended at first, but shrugged and smiled. _

"_Now I know what to make you every Saturday morning when we grow old together," Sora winked while Kairi blushed. "And what makes you so sure we'll grow old together?"_

"_You won't be able to resist my French Toast," Sora exclaimed while putting a dime of whip cream on Kairi's nose. "And by the way, my cooking is awesome."_

"MISS?" Kairi snapped back into reality when the exciting waitress asked for her order. "Oh… um… sure. Yeah."

Sora looked over at Kairi while she ordered. He didn't know what came over him, but he actually wanted to sit with her. He couldn't just go over there. Sora may be a jerk to her, but he knows well enough not to invade her personal space when she needs it. _I need to stop bringing up the past all the time. I need to let it go. God, Sora!_

"DO YOU TWO EVER LISTEN TO ME? CAN I TAKE YOUR ORDER SIR?" This time it was Sora's turn to snap out of his thoughts. "I'll just have scrambled eggs with a glass of Paopu juice, thanks."

"Whatever." She took the menu and left. "… The hell did I ever do?" Sora looked around as if he was talking to someone. He saw Kairi looking out the window.

Her hair was up in a high ponytail, having strands of hair fall out from the sides. She rested her chin on her two palms and she sat cross legged in her booth seat. His t-shirt covered her shorts and was big on her, but Kairi could look gorgeous in anything and pull it off. Sora sighed, grabbed a pencil from the table near the salt, and started to draw on his napkin.

Kairi noticed his little activity and laughed. Every time he was deep in thought or was confused, he'd draw or listen to music. For some reason it clears his head.

Sora saw the 'kind' waitress pass by him and noticed she was giving Kairi her food. Sora smiled when it was the French Toast and chocolate milk. He knew she couldn't resist that meal. She'd have it for lunch and dinner if she could, too.

He finished his scrambled eggs fairy quickly. Sora was always the one to finish eating early considering his big appetite. He looked over to find Kairi still finishing her last piece of French Toast. There was nothing else to do but wait in the car… but wait. Was that a game machine? Sora put his money on the table and walked over to the tempting game.

Kairi popped the last blueberry in her mouth and took the last sip of her chocolate milk. _Hm, that didn't taste as fresh as- JUST.. SHUT UP KAIIR. JUST SHUT UP. _Kairi thought, slapping herself mentally. Kairi put the money down with her receipt and thought about putting a tip, but thinking about her service this morning, she left no tip at all.

As soon as she got up, she second guessed herself. _That dress and hairdo is horrible, though… Okay fine she gets a 2 dollar tip._

Sora focused on the claw in the machine and went on all sides of it just to make sure he had the perfect angle to win a Chocobo. "Alright, Sora. This is all on you. This chocobo is YOURS, DAMMIT." He cracked his knuckles and pressed the red button that made the claw go down.

"It's time to go." Kairi put her hand painfully on Sora's arm and dragged him out of the restaurant. "NO! I'M GONNA WIN, THOUGH!"

"No, you aren't." Just as the door was about close, Sora yelled out, "We'll meet again Chocobo!" while pretending to sob. "You know, you keep being mean to me and stuff and you don't even realize that I'm your ride there."

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Sora! And I guess you don't realize that if you left without me, Riku would beat your ass?" Kairi said as she turned around to face him and crossed her arms, tapping her foot. "Taddle tale."

"Wuss." As Kairi turned back around, Sora glared. "Would you like me to open your door for you?"

"Uh, no."

Sora made a face. "And why not?"

"Only gentlemen do that," Kairi exclaimed as she closed her door, putting on her sunglasses.

"Only gentlemen do that," Sora mimicked with a high voice, pretending to put sunglasses on dramatically.

They still had about 9 and a half hours left, and they both thought they were going crazy. At least they had food in their stomachs. That is… until lunch comes. As a pop song came on the radio, both were analyzing the lyrics in their minds.

Not many people knew this, but they both had a passion for music. When all of their friends just simply listen to a song based on the rhythm, Sora and Kairi actually listened to the lyrics and key changes. They both sang very well, but no one knew that. They were both afraid for people to hear their voices. They shared stage fright.

Sora looked around, "Hmmm… I spy with my little eye-" Kairi interrupted him. "Sora were in the middle of nowhere there's nothing you can spy with your blue ass eye." Sora continued, "Something annoying." He glared at her.

"Oh, did you look in the mirror again?" Sora was silent. "NEED SOME ICE?"

"Yeah, yeah, because you just got burned. Come on, Kai, get a better comeback than that." He gave her a look. "Dude, at least I came back at you with the mirror thing, you couldn't even-" This time Kairi was interrupted but not by Sora, it was her phone. The phone read, "Incoming call: Namine." Kairi smiled and answered.

"HEY NAM HEY!" Kairi usually said this to be funny, but Sora found it irking. "Hey lovebirds," Namine said while Kairi's eye twitched. "How's the road trip?"

She looked over at Sora who was mouthing the words to the song on the radio, dancing in his seat wildly, pretending as though he was in a music video. "Um… strange. How are you and Roxas?"

"We're pretty good. We went to this awesome place for breakfast, and Kairi, I bought you the most gorgeous shirt yesterday!" Kairi bit her lip. "Heh, yeah, I could use a new shirt. Thanks!" Sora started to laugh again at the toilet incident, but this time it earned Kairi's nails into Sora's thigh. He yelped, slammed his hands on the wheel, and sighed in relief once she let go.

"Well I'll let you go, Namine. Hopefully see you later!" Kairi hung up her phone and looked over at Sora.

"By the time we get to Traverse Town I'm gonna have a broken arm and scars all along my body from you. Let is slide, Kai!" He laughed at his own rhyme.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Absolutely not." Kairi rolled her eyes and took off her sunglasses.

"Sooo…" Sora started to spark up a new conversation. "Um… why didn't you leave the dorm for Spring Break?" Kairi threw a look at him. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Well, we have 9 hours and 15 minutes left of this trip, we might as well spark a conversation," Sora shrugged. "Um… my… mom and dad had a business trip. I didn't want to get in the way between their business and pleasure."

"You'd think that you would have gotten in the way? That's a horrible thing to say," Sora said making no eye contact.

"How is it a horrible thing to say? It's a true statement. All of the business meetings, them driving to different cities. I would just be getting in the way by asking them to take me places and being bored at whatever city they went to next. It's that simple." Kairi wouldn't make any eye contact either.

"But…"

"Sora, I spent Christmas with Namine last year. When they go away, I have to stay. That's why Axel set up that huge party at my house last summer. No one would ever be home. I'm the mayor's daughter. It's the cost."

Sora didn't know what to say after this. He could just say he understood, but that meant he'd have to bring stuff up. He felt like she didn't deserve to be abandoned by her own family. Kairi deserved to be with her family, but at the same time, she deserves better parents if they're not even going to argue to her come with them. "What about you?" She unexpectedly asked.

Sora's face turned red. "Um, my situation is the opposite." Kairi gestured for him to continue. Sora shrugged, "No one invited me to anything." This time, Kairi looked at him. "W-what do you mean? Your mom could have at least invited you back home."

"She went to some beach with her friends."

"Well what about the gang? Why didn't you go to the amusement with them?" Kairi turned her body towards him trying to get in depth with the conversation. "Would you calm down? I don't like inviting myself. Plus I just met them like this year, it'd be a little awkward."

"We're on a road trip together, nothing could be more awkward." Sora smirked at that, but soon it faded.

"At least we're going to Traverse Town for a couple of days…" Sora murmured. Kairi tried to put a smile into that fact, but she didn't have the will to.

"Yeah, with nothing to do along the way," Kairi sighed. "Well, there's always me."

At this Kairi choked on her spit and gave him a look with flames in her eyes. Sora was confused at first but then freaked. "W-WAIT! I didn't mean it like that!"

"Oh really? Then what did you mean? Because if you didn't mean that sexually, this will be the first time you've ever been mature," Kairi said so matter-of-factly. "Well it looks like you're the immature one here because what I MEANT was that I would amuse you this whole trip just in case you went crazy. Wow someone's mind is in the gutter."

Kairi blushed madly and tried to come up with a cover up. "S-sure you did." Sora shook his head and chuckled. _Who knew Kairi thought that way?_

_Kairi looked out the window and yawned. She looked in the rear view mirror and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Are you seriously tired? Every time you fall sleep I feel like a taxi dropping off some drunk chick." _

"_Well sorry! I didn't get much sleep the night before we left." _

_Sora smiled, "You still do those late night movies on the couch, don't you?" _

"_Shut up." _


	4. Driving and Thriving

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the song The Only Exception. xD

* * *

Sora and Kairi had finally reached a small town, but still had about 8 hours left. Kairi found the small town cute and the little stores added that little bit of hospitality to it. But then she found something that she absolutely needed. She had to find an excuse.

Kairi clutched her stomach and gasped, "S-Sora, I think I'm gonna be sick!" Sora had a terrified look on his face. "What? You don't get car sick!"

"I-it must have been the French toast! Pull over to this ironically placed shop right here!" She was now covering her mouth, ready to open the door. Sora sped up to the parking lot and came to a halt. Kairi threw her seatbelt off and ran out the door. "Well do you need my he-" Sora stopped mid sentence when he saw Kairi walk over to a bracelet rack. "Of course she would." He rolled his eyes.

The little shop sold traveling goodies; t-shirts, water bottles, bracelets, snacks. Although, Kairi looked confused when she saw a bucket of condoms on the front counter. "Is that even relevant to this stores purpose?"

"Wow it looks like you got over your sickness pretty quick. What'd you do? Swallow it?" Sora crossed his arms. "Um… I got over it." Kairi grabbed a bracelet that had a mixture of purple and red, a graceful pattern. Almost like a friendship bracelet.

"I LOVE this!" She grabbed the bracelet. "Like oh my god! You should totally get it, Kai! Like, seriously!" Sora jumped up and down. Kairi shot him a glare. "You are so embarrassing. Go back to the car."

"I'm not your bitch, Kairi." Sora had his chin up and his hands on his waist. Kairi ignored him and looked at the price of the bracelet. She widened her eyes at the price. Kairi promised Namine she'd save all of her money to shop with her and only spend it on food and gas if needed. She sighed, and put it back. "Looks like I'm not gonna-" Kairi turned around and Sora wasn't there. "Dangit, Sora."

Kairi bought some water from the front counter and headed for the car prepared to yell at Sora for leaving her. She opened up the passenger door, but he wasn't there. "And he yells at ME for leaving. Ugh!"

She threw her feet up on the dashboard and took out her ponytail. Kairi realized she hadn't taken out the ponytail when she woke up from the nap in Sora's car when they left for the trip. She ran a hand through her messy hair and tried to relax. Something was bothering her but she couldn't find out what it was. She felt like there was a weight on her shoulders. It was driving her nuts.

Kairi was use to being alone all the time. Sometimes it was a good thing when she was trying to study during school.

This… abandoned feeling was familiar…

_When Kairi awoke in the middle of the night her eyes were burning; Dried up tears stuck on her cheeks. She had a box of tissues lying next to her on her large bed, and she felt an alone feeling. She felt like there was someone with her before. Then she remembered. _

_Kairi's parents were away on a business trip, and she had the whole house to herself. She was use to having it be empty, so she didn't mind anymore. Things were fine until she got a call from her father saying that him and her mother had got into an argument. At first Kairi was confused on why he thought she'd be surprised, they argued all the time. It was hard not to argue with the jobs her parents had. But the real news struck._

_Her parents' argument was mores serious than usual. She didn't know if her mom was coming back from the trip this time._

_Of course the first person she called was Sora. He would catch her right before she fell. Before she even had time to let a tear fall, he'd set words of comfort that calmed her enough. This time the words wouldn't do it. The last thing she remembers was falling into his arms and getting his shirt wet by tears. He tried all he could to make her stop crying. The only thing that stopped her from it was falling asleep. He held her in his arms as she slept; thankful for the slow steady breathing instead of the cries that broke his heart._

_Kairi remembered Sora, and look around her room, but couldn't find him. There wasn't even a note. "Sora?" Her lip quivered as she tried to hold back tears. "Don't leave me…" She clutched the end of her blanket and brought it up to her neck as she sat up. "Please…" She continued to sob the familiar pain into her blanket, feeling lost without him there. _

_Sora tip toed up to the room, and quickly opened the door when he heard more cries. He found Kairi sobbing into her bed, crying out. He dropped the extra pillow he had and ran over to her. "Kairi, what's wrong? What's wrong?" He kept repeating. _

_Kairi looked up to worried eyes. At first she thought she was hallucinating, but then she wrapped her arms around his waist and continued to cry. "I-I thought you left me… O-of all t-the times that I've been a-alone in this house, t-this is the only time I've been.. Scared…" _

_Sora buried his face in her hair and held her lightly. "I would never leave you…" Kairi shook as he held her. "Ssh… It's going to be okay. I'm here… It's all going to be okay…" Sora whispered lightly in her ear. _

_Kairi faced a question she didn't know if she wanted answered. "W-when are you going home?" She looked up to him. Sora's heart wrenched at the site of Kairi's blue-violet eyes filled with tears and sadness. He caressed her cheek and answered her question. "Only if you tell me to." _

_He leaned and delicately placed his lips on hers as he felt one of Kairi's tears fall on his cheek. Kairi closed her eyes tightly, trying to forget everything in the world around her. It was just Sora. They pulled apart, and Kairi was back in reality. _

_Sora kicked off his shoes, wrapped Kairi's down blanket around the two of them, and grabbed a tissue from her table lamp. "You'll probably be staying awhile," Kairi confessed. _

"_I have no problem with that…" Sora kissed her forehead and ran circle with his thumbs on her back, soothing her. "Get some rest. You had a long day…" Kairi almost argued that order, but her heavy eyes had already fell. _

Kairi came back to reality when the drivers door slammed shut, Sora in the car. "And just where the hell were you?"

"You know, there's this thing that humans have. It's pretty fantastic. It's called a bladder. Have you ever heard of it?" Sora said seriously, almost irritated. "You're hilarious. You could have just said you went to the bathroom."

"Well that wouldn't be annoy now would it?" Sora pulled the car in reverse to leave the parking lot. "Isn't everything you say annoying?"

"Ha."

Kairi felt like the car ride was that much more awkward after remembering that memory. She wanted to bring it up, but at the same time…

"Sora?" Kairi asked terrified. "Aww, no sarcastic names this time?"

"Um… never mind." Kairi didn't want to bring it up. "Of course."

If Kairi wanted to talk about something but was afraid to, she usually just pushed it aside. She was afraid of other peoples reactions, and not just her own. She didn't want people judging her, but she'd never find out if she never asked the question.

When the two had reached a red light, Sora took his hands off the wheel, stretched them over his head, and let out a long yawn. "Oh, man," He exhaled. "I'm friggin' exhausted."

"Were you losing brain cells with video games last night?" Kairi pouted, pretending to look sorry for him. "Actually, no. Unlike you, I actually woke up at 4:30 just to get ready and leave." He shot her a look and continued, "I hate energy drinks, but right now I could use one. Or a slap in the face."

Sora quickly looked at Kairi who was already raising her hand, "I MEANT THAT THEOREDICALLY!" Kairi frowned and placed down her hand.

"You know… you could…" Kairi battered her eyelashes. Sora looked at her and knew exactly what she meant. "No! I don't want this car destroyed. Plus, you don't even have your license."

Kairi glared, "You wanna die today, Sora?" He looked confused, "If you drive, yes."

"Come on, Sora! Just let me try! We're in a deserted road anyway. There won't be that many cars. Please?" He made the mistake by looking in her eyes that were filled with plead. He sighed.

"You better call Namine, then." She was confused. "Why would I do that?"

Sora stopped the car, undid his seatbelt, and opened the door. "You'll have to tell her we won't make it to Traverse Town." Kairi rolled her eyes, but clapped her hands and she crawled to the front seat. "So you press this to slow down right?" She asked in an angelic voice, pointing to the gas petal. Sora's eyes widened, but Kairi laughed.

"I'm just joking. I know what everything is." Kairi put the car in drive, stepped on the gas, and left the spot they parked at. "See? I'm not that bad… Just open your eyes, Sora!"

"Just… be careful. I'm paying a lot for this car."

"Sure…"

* * *

"Roxas, maybe this was a bad idea," Namine confessed as she held her boyfriends hand, walking around town. "Nam, this was your idea, you wanted them together again," Roxas tried to sooth her with his words.

"Well I don't want them going crazy or something… You know how those two are." Roxas stopped her on the sidewalk and put both of her hands in his. "It'll be fine." He ran a hand through Namine's soft blonde hair.

"This is what I hate about you." Roxas made a face, "What did I ever do?" Namine grinned, "You're always right even though I know I shouldn't believe you."

Roxas laughed, "But I am right. They probably already can't keep them hands off each other."

* * *

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" Kairi yelled. "You're going to get us killed!"

Sora had put one of his hands over hers on the steering wheel and the other on top of her foot attempting to stop the car. Kairi was looking for her sunglasses on the floor a moment ago, not paying attention to the road. Both of them blushed when Kairi accidentally brushed her hand on Sora's thigh.

"Kai, seriously, you're freaking me out! Just st-" He was cut off. "DON'T CALL ME THAT ANYMORE. Just don't!" Talking turned into yelling this time.

Sora was confused. That was the name he always called her. It had a history behind it. THEY had a history. "O-okay but just pull over, Kai.. ri!" Sora saw a glimpse of a tear in her eyes. Now he was beyond confused. What was her problem?

Kairi slammed the breaks hard, opened the door and ran out of the car. "What the- KAIRI!" Sora quickly opened the door. "What the hell, Kairi? What's going on?" He threw his hands in the air. Kairi was walking away from the car. Sora started to run towards her, but he was stopped.

"YOU need to stay away from me!" She outstretched her arm and pointed to him. Sora put his hands up in defense. "What did I do?"

"Everything!" Sora was look around as if he was trying to find answer. "If we're playing charades again-"

"No, Sora. We aren't." Kairi wiped the tears out of her eyes, and unexpectedly sat down and hugged her knees. Sora also sat, but about 12 feet away from her. "Sorry… You didn't do anything. There was a lot pressure and…" Kairi wanted continue that sentence but she didn't want to bring up their past. Sora continued almost got up to go next to her, but she gave him a polite look that he shouldn't come closer. He obeyed.

"It's alright… You just kinda scared me that's all," Sora said scratching the back of his head. Kairi smiled the tiniest bit, but it fell when she knew she wasn't suppose to.

"Let's go back to the car. And just to be safe… I'll drive," Sora exclaimed. Kairi glared at him, but nodded. "Are you sure nothings wrong? Because the first time I drove I didn't exactly cry."

"Sora, I was with you the first time you drove and the moment you thought you drove into a one way street you started to go into hysterics."

"… That's not the point." Kairi giggled. It was a while since Sora finally saw her laugh. "Now are you ready to continue this trip so we can get these 11 hours over with? We can grab some lunch soon. I know we just had breakfast, but I'm already hungry."

"Yes. And when aren't you hungry?" Kairi started to walk back to the car when Sora said, "While I have the flu. Good times." Sora looked up to the sky, but continued. "Hey, at least we aren't dead… yet."

Kairi playfully shoved him in the road. Sora laughed as he felt like it was old times again. "At least I drove the right way." Sora stood corrected.

Sora unexpectedly opened the door for Kairi, and she awkwardly climbed in her seat. "Uh, thanks." Sora nodded and jogged over to the drivers side.

One of Kairi's favorite songs was on the radio, and she heard Sora sing along.

"_I can't, let go of what's in front of me here. I know you're leaving in the morning when you wake up, leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream…" _Sora's voice cracked at the end, him realizing that the song fit him so well.

Kairi was almost mad at the fact they were playing that song. It may one of her favorites, but it fit her situation a little too well. The only problem she had was she couldn't let go of her past. Something stopped her from moving on. She was afraid that it was because of a certain person. And they so happened to be singing the song.

Both of them started to sing along to the song. "_Oh and I'm on my way to believing…" _

_Trust me, Kairi. I'm trying._

* * *

**A/N: WASSUP GUYS? Thank you all so much for the reviews! They are the inspiration to keep me going. :) And for the people who have been asking, their age is 17! And yes, something DID, happen, but you'll have to wait and seeeeeee. Sorry if I've been having these late updates! . I've been pretty busy these last couple of days. And trust me, I am NOT excited for school to start. But I hope that all of you have been having an amazing summer and you kick off the school year with a BAM! I'll update as soon as I can! :) 3**


	5. Coasters and Colliding

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

* * *

"Okay… a verb."

"Rubbing." At this, Kairi made a face. "Sorry, it was the first thing I could come up with, I have the worst itch on my back." Sora reached behind his back and closed his eyes in pleasure once he itched the spot. "Um, alrighty then." When Kairi went to write the word, they crossed a huge bump, causing her to rip the page with her pencil.

"Really, Sora? You suck at driving." Sora put one hand on his hip, the other on the wheel, and glared. "Do you really want to go there?"

"No. I want to go to Traverse Town and get this whole shenanigans over with." Kairi crossed her arms. "I swear, one moment you're Little Miss Feel-Bad-For-Me, and then you're, and you may slap me, a bitch."

Sora covered his head and his 'area', but Kairi just shrugged. "I'm only a bitch to you."

"Oh, that is such a relief. Thank you so much for clearing that up for me." Sora placed a hand on Kairi's shoulder. "I have mace." Sora immediately swiped his hand away and continued driving.

Kairi didn't mind that he called her that, because she was one to him. Kairi couldn't help it.. She… hated him. _Hate is such a strong word, though… But he knew what he did._ She started to think about hate, and came to a question. "Sora, can I ask something?"

"For the last time, that kiss with Axel was-" **(A/N: **Just to be funny. Nothing happened. xD)

"I'm not talking about that," Kairi interrupted. "Oh, then what do you want?" Sora was worried now.

"Why did you hate Roxas in the beginning of the year?" Sora frowned at this. He didn't like to remember. But then he blushed at the reason why he did.

"… You gonna answer?" He might as well come out with it.

"Because he was going out with you."

Kairi blinked.

"_I have a favor to ask you," Roxas asked politely. "Oh, geez… What?" _

"_Well you know that I've had a huge crush on Namine for forever…" Sora nodded. "I want to ask Kairi out." The minute Roxas had said this, it was war._

_Sora lunged his body onto Roxas and before he could punch, Roxas yelled, "JUST TO MAKE NAMINE JEALOUS! Not intentionally!" Sora put down his hand and patted Roxas' back. "Sorry, man. But… why would you do that?"_

"_Come on, Sora. Namine has shown no interest at all. I need to give her an idea of what exactly could be good for her. I mean, look what she's missing." Roxas popped his collar, but when he went to rest his hand on the desk, he slipped and fell. "Oh yeah. You're Roxas the 'smooth one'". _

"_What, are you mad or something?" Roxas got back on his feet. "You could hurt her feelings, Roxas… I don't think she wants to be used." _

"_Because you didn't hurt her feelings enough, Sora." Sora's heart dropped at this. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Screw you." Roxas instantly felt bad. "Shit, Sora, I didn't mean-" Sora interrupted Roxas. "No, I know you meant it. Everyone knows. She knows. It doesn't matter anymore, right? Go ahead and ask her out only to bring her down maybe even more than I did." Sora grabbed his jacket and was ready to leave._

"_I was gonna tell her beforehand anyway. She won't get hurt, Sora." _

"_Well what if you two develop feelings for each other?" Sora looked away. "Why must you always think like they do in the movies? We won't. I don't feel that way about her, and she doesn't feel that way about me." _

"_And how do you know?" Sora crossed his arms._

"_Because I know she still has feelings for you… Even though you broke her heart…" Roxas lowered his voice at the last part. _

_Sora twisted the knob of the door and ran away as fast as he could. _

_**Two Days Later**_

_Sora saw a frantic Namine run up to him. "SORA! Did you hear?" She seemed out of breath. "Um, apparently not. What's up?"_

"_Roxas just asked out Kairi…" She was at lost for words. "They just… they don't belong… together?" Namine felt embarrassed as she was saying this, making it look like she had feelings for Roxas. Sora on the other hand, had his heart breaking more and more. _

_Sora didn't know Roxas would actually ask Kairi out, but he did, and Sora would have to get over it. He knew it was only for show, but he couldn't stand the fact that Kairi was with another guy. _

_Sora scratched the back of his head, "Really…?" Namine nodded biting her lip. Sora grinned at her. "Are you jealous?"_

_Namine punched his arm. "O-of course not! Why would you say that? Roxas is just my friend w-what are you talking about?" She was near yelling now. Her cheeks were a light pink, but she still had flames in her cerulean eyes. _

"_Whatever you say…" Sora said slowly as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Namine huffed, crossed her arms, and walked away angrily. Just as Sora was about to walk away also, he heard Namine call out._

"… _Don't tell him, Sora." _

_Sora smiled, "I won't."_

"Y-you know that wasn't a real relationship, Sora," Kairi stuttered.

"But he knew that I still had feelings for you."

Kairi's heart stopped. At that moment, she felt bad for Sora, but then snapped out of it, because he knows what he did. But even if what he said was true, she knew Roxas would never do anything to hurt Sora. They were best friends.

"W-why would you still have feelings f-for me?"

"Just let it go." Sora was focused on the road ahead of him. "No, you-"

"Let's get lunch, I'm starving." Kairi gawked at him. "Just like you, Sora. You just push everything aside. So immature. You can never handle the truth because you're afraid of it!"

"Kairi, just let it go, dammit! Do you want lunch or not?" Sora yelled. Kairi backed away a little. She never saw him yell like that, and especially to her. She knew now that she really pissed him off. "Whatever."

Sora instantly felt bad. "Look… I'm sorry. I just… don't want to talk about it."

"You never do." Kairi had her arms crossed and was looking at out the window. She noticed that there was an annual carnival near by, which meant corndogs. Kairi and corndogs meant heaven.

"Well… I could be a little less pissed at you if you would take me… there." Kairi pointed out the window towards the carnival. "Oh, my God come on, Kairi. Really? We don't have that much time to wait in line with 20 smelly ass people who just road a bunch of rides that made them rip their pants. I'm just saying," Sora threw his hands in the air in defense.

"Dammit, Sora. You never let me have any fun!" Kairi pouted. "Don't even say that because I let you all the time back when… Yeah, and if I let you in there you will make me wait while you ride endless rides."

"No I won't! Please, Sora? I just want a corndog." She clasped her hands together, and pulled her lip into a pout, begging to Sora. He sighed. "Only a corndog and then we leave."

"Holy shit, Sora, we HAVE to ride this!" Kairi grabbed Sora's arm towards the extreme ride. "Um, how about not? We need to be leaving, Kai." Kairi shot him a glare.

"What? Too scared?" She put her hands on her hips and gave him a look. "What? Psh, no. That ride is for toddlers." Sora crossed his arms.

"Really? Is that why you screamed to get off the roller coaster we rode last year?"

"Um, we were 5. I was trying to protect you. That bolt didn't look very stable," Sora said as he put his nose high in the air. "Sora, that was last year."

"… Your point?" Sora made a face. "Please? It doesn't even look that scary."

Sora grinned, "Then why don't you just ride it by yourself?" Kairi looked offended.

The ride had 4 loops, and straight fall, and near the end of the track, it went OFF the railing. All of this was Kairi's worst fear, but she had to ride it. Kairi was the kind of person who lived her life to the fullest, because she knows that any minute could be your last.

Kairi walked over to Sora, put a hand on his shoulder, and brought her lips to his ear. Sora was wide-eyed and had trouble breathing. _What the hell is she doing?_

"You ride this roller coaster with me, or I will kick you so hard where it hurts that you won't even be able to drive. Plus, I'll do it right in front of all the little kids so they see how much of a wimp you really are," Kairi whispered.

Sora gently pushed her aside, went up to the ticket booth, and said angrily, "Two tickets for the Ultima Coaster."

The teen printed the tickets and grinned, "Nice girlfriend. Don't let that one go."

"She's _not_," Sora yanked the tickets, "my girlfriend." Kairi jumped up and down and ran over to the line.

They were about third in line and Sora started to get anxious. He actually did enjoy roller coasters, but what he said about the bolt was true. When he and Kairi rode a roller coaster last year, before the ride started, he convinced Kairi to get off the ride with him. There was a lose bolt right next to their seat, and he didn't want Kairi to be in danger. She was his world back then.

"Would you calm down? Holy crap," Kairi exclaimed. "Dude, you have every right to be frightened right now. I'm not even sure this ride is secure. Plus, you'll get a headache for hours afterwards because of the loops," the manager of the ride said. "What a relief. That makes me feel so much better. How about you, Kairi?" Sora said. Kairi sweat dropped. It was now their and twenty other peoples turn to go on the roller coaster. "Well come on, Kai. You ready to go on this safety hazard, or what?" Sora grabbed her hand and they went to the front seat. Of all things that Sora did not want to do in life, this was one of them. Being in the very front of a roller coaster that isn't even safe.

Kairi wanted to get back at Sora, and she knew the perfect way. The ride had jolted to a start. The roller coaster started to go slowly up a hill, but right when they went straight down, Kairi exclaimed, "Is that a loose bolt I see?" "Mother fu-" Sora was cut off when the ride pushed his body against the railing in front of him and caught his breath. Kairi couldn't stop laughing, but she still screamed in the process.

Kairi didn't really like loops, so when they went up to the first loop, Kairi dug her hand into Sora's and screamed on the top of her lungs. Sora's eye twitched at how loud her scream was, and winced in pain when he felt her nails into his skin.

"K-K-K-KAI!" Sora managed to yell. "SHUT UP THE RIDE IS ALMOST OVER!"

"And so is my life." Sora said dramatically.

The ride came to a stop and Kairi looked down at her hand that was on Sora's. She blushed and yanked it away, but then laughed when she saw he was almost bleeding from her nails. "You're buying me a band aid."

"And you're buying me a corndog."

"Mmm. Soooo good. Nothing beats a carnival corndog," Kairi said as she chewed. "WHAT? Sorry, I can't hear you from my severely damaged hearing from your screaming."

"Hey, I'm still surprised you didn't pee yourself," Kairi took a drink of her Coke. Sora rolled his eyes. He looked at Kairi and laughed, her hair was a mess from the ride and parted the wrong way. "What?" She asked offended.

"Your hair." Sora leaned over, and brushed strands of hair behind her ear. He's so close to me… H-he should back away… This reminds me of the old days… Kairi thought. Sora snapped out of his moment. "I-I mean… your hair looks like a mess." Sora didn't want to sound too sweet. "We should get going."

"But you didn't even eat?"

Sora looked over at Kairi and her violet eyes shined in the light. She had had a small smirk on her face.

"I-I'm not so hungry anymore…"

* * *

**OH SNAP. This is a kind of late update, sorry. D: But school started and you know how that can be. If you guys care, school's actually been going pretty well. I know Pre AP Chemistry is going to kick my ass, though. But this year should change for the better! I will update as soon as I can.**

**And a special thanks to all of the people who reviewed! I love you guys so much. 3 I'LL BE BACK SOON.**


	6. Karma and Capture

"Okay a little to the left."

"Right here?"

"No to my left."

"How about now?

"I meant your left."

"How about I shove my left up your ass?" Kairi snapped at Sora. She wanted to take a picture with the view behind her. The sun was past it's brightest and highest, and she found the view beautiful. Kairi asked Sora to take a picture, but he was making it difficult.

"Ouch. Just trying to get the picture right." Kairi opened her mouth to argue, but Sora snapped the picture. "Sora! What the hell? I wasn't ready!"

"You didn't say that when-"

"JUST retake the picture!" Sora smirked and ran back to the car. "It's a keeper though! We'll treasure it forever!"

At that moment, Kairi felt almost awkward. It sounded like they we're together… again… but they weren't. Kairi faced that. "Just… keep it." Sora smiled.

"Why don't we take a picture together?" Kairi stopped walking. "U-um…"

"Oh come on, it'll remind us of the time we almost got along."

_And just what the hell did he mean by this? Don't think that we're friends, Sora… Are we friends? Ugh I don't even know right now! _Kairi nodded awkwardly and walked over to him. "I know, Kairi, it's gonna be hard for you to actually smile. Your stone heart will find it difficult."

Kairi punched him in the arm and grabbed the camera. "I always had the better angle, anyway. Say 'I hate my life!' because at the moment I certainly do." Sora grinned at her remark and Kairi smiled cheesy-ingly and snapped the picture.

"Happy?" She threw the camera at him, at which caused Sora to use his catlike reflexes to catch it and run over to Kairi, putting his arm over her shoulder. "Eternally." She shrugged his arm off her shoulder.

"Um, we've been driving for forever. Can we get some fresh air and just stay out here a little?" Kairi asked. Sora smiled and nodded. The two climbed on the hood of Sora's jeep and looked up at the clouds. Sora grabbed the camera and smiled at the picture they just took.

"You aren't very photogenic anymore, are you, Kairi?" Kairi shoved him off the car, but Sora somehow still stayed on. "Shut up! I am, too! And what about you? You're the one who doesn't smile in any pictures. Which is odd because of how happy you always are and how you never shut. The. Hell. Up."

Sora rolled his eyes. "The only picture I know of you smiling is…" Kairi stopped mid-sentence when she realized what she was going to say. "What Kairi?" Sora grinned.

"_Dude, now's your chance! Ask her out!" Roxas yelled, shoving Sora's shoulders. "Roxas, she's been my best friend since we were six. Maybe she should stay that way."_

"_Sora, I know you've loved her ever since then." _

"_H-how do you know that?" Sora made no eye contact. "Sora… I've been in love with Namine since… I don't even know when. You look at Kairi the same way I look at Namine. It's only obvious."_

"… _Is it, really? God, Roxas! I don't know what to do. I can't just ask some chick out and make her jealous. Because that worked so well for you." Sora was unsure of he wanted to do. _

"_Why are you saying that sarcastically? I got the girl of my dreams." Roxas looked over to Namine and gave her a wink, causing her to blush. _

"_No, you haven't. You're too chicken to ask her out, too." Roxas glared. "Not the point. Now go get your girl!" Roxas cleared his throat. "Hey Kai! You and Sora should take a picture with the sunset. It's perfect!" Roxas pushed Sora towards Kairi, causing him to push into her. _

"_O-oh! Sorry, Kairi!" Sora blushed. "It's fine! I know how clumsy you are." Kairi ruffled Sora's hair. "Actually smile this time, you lazy bum!" The two faced the camera._

"_Okay you love birds, let's get this picture." Namine demanded. Sora's face turned hot and Kairi giggled. "W-we're not l-love birds." Sora scratched the back of his head. _

_Sora didn't know how to be in the picture. Should he just stand there? No, that shows that they don't really look like friends. He needs to give her some kind of hint. Should he rest his arm on her shoulder? No, too guy-ish. Should he put his arm around her shoulders? It was worth a shot. _

_He hesitantly lifted his arm, and wrapped it over Kairi's shoulders. Sora felt awkward at first, but then he relaxed, feeling comfortable being so close to her. Kairi blushed and leaned in more to Sora. "Alright, smile wide!" _

_The sunset behind them was beautiful. The sky was a mixture of purple and pink, summer in the air. The sun rested just a little above the ocean at Destiny Islands. Beautiful sunsets happened a lot there, but the one tonight was exceptionally more stunning. It was picture worthy, but Sora had a problem._

_Sora never really smiled in pictures. He just did his signature grin. He didn't get why, though. He was such a happy-go person, but he guessed he wasn't comfortable showing his smile in a picture. But this photo was different. He found an inspiration to smile. Sora smiled widely, as did Kairi. The camera flashed as it caught the special moment between the two. _

"_You acutally smiled," Kairi said happily, giggling. "I guess I did…" Sora said. Kairi stood on her toes and gave a quick peck on the cheek on Sora. He was used to that, but this time it felt different. Did it mean something this time?_

_Right before Kairi could let go, Roxas snapped the picture of the peck. "Roxas!" _

"_I couldn't resist," He held up his hands in defense. "Well, that picture is surely a keeper!" Kairi chirped. "Don't you think Sora? Both of them!" She smiled. _

"_Definitely." Sora stared in her violet eyes. "A keeper." _

"Roxas is such a douche," Kairi stated, rolling her eyes. "You still love him." Sora nudged. "Well yeah he's one of my best friends, but that picture wasn't really necessary."

"Oh sure. Come on, Kairi. You know how much he wanted us to be together. He just wanted it to be a great moment that all four of us could have remembered."

"That didn't mean he had to go and make it awkward." Sora laughed. Roxas lived to make any moment awkward.

From about a block away, Sora and Kairi could hear a bunch of teens rocking out to obnoxious rap music. They were obviously drunk or they all got laid last night. It's up to you.

Kairi rolled her eyes and scuffed at how immature some teens could be. She has her moments of enjoying music in the car, but did the base have to be that loud? They were also screaming. The driver rolled down the window before they passed the two on the hood of the car, and yelled, "HEY, you two, get a room!"

Every hauled laughing in the car, thinking that their leader was as hilarious as anything on the planet. Kairi jumped off the car.

"HOW ABOUT YOU AND YOUR MOM'S BOYFRIEND GET A ROOM!" Kairi screeched. The driver's smile fell.

"… YOU DON'T KNOW MY LIFE!" He stepped on the gas and drove away.

"Um, how did you know that guy?" Sora asked confusingly. "I didn't. I just wanted to get back at him." The two stared at each other for a little, but Sora busted laughing. He rolled off the hood of the car and tried breathing.

"You would, Kairi. Alright, let's head out."

Sora and Kairi plopped back into the car and continued their journey.

Sora had to admit, he was glad how this trip turned out so far. He was glad they weren't ripping each others throats out. Maybe they could even be friends after this? He smirked at the thought, and looked over at Kairi.

A light breeze from the crack of her window was blowing her crimson hair around, the sunlight hitting the side of her flawless face perfectly. Her legs were crossed and her shirt (or I should say his shirt) was slightly raised on her side, showing a little bit of her skin. Kairi was smiling at her phone as she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Funny text or something?" Sora asked curiously. "It's just Riku being Riku…" A pang of jealously hit Sora's chest. Riku used to be his best friend, why was he jealous all of a sudden? "I think he's starting to like me."

"You like him back or something?" Sora said as though he didn't care, even though he cared with all in the world. Kairi looked over at him and crossed her arms. "And why do you care? You should be able to find out I'm in the hospital and you shouldn't care."

"Why would you even be in the hospital? You're like, the safest person I've ever known."

"I dated you, didn't I?" Kairi exclaimed. "Oh, dayum! She used the dating excuse!" Sora put a hand over his mouth, acting like he was in a street talk gang.

"Would you shut up?" Sora frowned. "If I had a dime for every time I've heard that today, I'm pretty sure I could buy you your own car for you to drive to Traverse Town. But wait, you don't have your license," Sora blurted.

"Do you really want to go there, Sora?" Sora snapped his fingers, "I think I just did." Kairi sat properly and smirked, Sora not realizing what was coming.

The two had come to a stop light. Kairi turned to her left to see three girls waving at Sora from his side window. Two of them were blonde, and the other was a brunette. He grinned at them, but nothing could compare to the girl of his dreams who just happened to be sitting right next to him. Kairi leaned over and rolled down his window. "K-Kairi, what are you doing?"

"HE'S GAY!" Kairi yelled at the three girls. They all looked at each other and ignored Sora's jeep, pretending it wasn't there anymore. Kairi rolled up his window and went back to her seat, acting like nothing happened.

"What the _hell_, Kairi? What was that!"

Kairi snapped her fingers, "I just went there." Sora glared at her. "Touché."

Sora was afraid to admit it, but he was scared to see what would happen after the vacation was over. He assumed Kairi would ride back home with Namine and Sora with Roxas, but he thought that he and Kairi were starting to become friends.

"What happens after this?" Sora asked nervously. "… You admit your sexuality?"

"… The hell? No! I meant… after the trip. After vacation." Sora was afraid of her answer. She wasn't in a great mood. "I don't feel where you're getting to…"

"With us, Kairi."

"… No comment." Kairi was expecting some kind of argument from him, but he let it drop. _Dammit, Kairi. Let me try…_

They passed a beautiful mountain top with the sun peeking over it perfectly. Kairi liked to capture moments like these. She liked to be reminded of the moments in her life, so she had to capture every one of them. She grabbed the camera from her bag and took the picture.

Come on, Kairi… maybe you guys could be friends… But how do I know he just won't end up screwing it up?

Kairi looked over at Sora who was lip-syncing a song on the radio, moving his hands around in motion. Kairi mentally giggled. He always had a way of rocking out. She couldn't give up that moment, so she made a good angle, and took a picture of Sora's rock-out.

Sora stared at her. "Really? This whole photo album is going to end up being outtakes, Kai." Kairi didn't seem to notice that he called her that, which Sora was thankful for. He didn't want another soap opera moment.

"I have to capture every moment, Sora."

"And what will Roxas and Nam think when they see you're wearing my shirt and very short shorts in these pictures?" Kairi didn't think about that. "You better come up with a good excuse, Sora. I know you always have them."

"Alright. I'll tell them I banged you hard and that we're back together. You needed a shirt. End of story." Sora joked. Even he knew he would never use Kairi like that.

5 seconds after that statement, a red handprint was left on Sora's cheek.


	7. Dinner and Dating

"And as his spirit went… So did she…" Kairi sighed contently.

"Oh. My. God. Are you done with your story yet? You've been reading out loud for a half hour, Kairi." Sora banged his head on the steering wheel, causing it to slightly honk the horn. Kairi glared at him.

"Adam was helplessly in love with Claudine and he did everything to get her back! He _died! _You just can't appreciate the story." Kairi hugged her book while Sora made a face. Did she even realize what she just said?

"Um… Okay." He didn't want to argue that. "So how about we get dinner sometime soon?" Sora quickly changed what he said after realizing what that sounded like. "Um, not like, on a date because we aren't toge-"

"And we never will be, Sora." _Damn Kairi, take that back. That was harsh._ Kairi thought to herself. "That-"

"No, I get it… Um, there's a restaurant around the corner. You want to stop by there?" Kairi nodded.

This could be an awkward night.

"Hi, I'm Sara, I'll be your server this evening. Can I get you two a table?" A tall, lean girl with brunette hair that was pulled back into a high ponytail asked. She held two menus in her arms, smiling. "Well you're definitely nicer than the last girl we saw."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Sara's face turned to horror. Sora and Kairi's smiles fell. Sara coughed. "Follow me." She spun around causing her ponytail to bounce up. It almost seemed like she was skipping to the table.

Sora leaned down to Kairi. "Where are the sane people these days?" Kairi inwardly giggled and tried not to laugh out loud.

"Here you are, Hikari table," Sara gestured towards the table that faced the window out to the sunset sky. The furniture was a dark brown wood and even had the fancy salt and pepper shakers. Kairi's eyebrows arched.

"Um… How did she know my last name?" Kairi asked curiously as she sat in the chair Sora had pulled out for her. "I-I told her when you weren't listening, I guess."

Sora hid his face in front of the menu; beet red. "Okay, let's pretend that was a good lie," Kairi exclaimed.

"Imadereservations who wants pasta?" Sora smiled widely, but it soon faded when Kairi's hand was around a fork. "Okay, killing is not an appropriate resolution here."

"Why the HELL would you make reservations?" Kairi slammed the table. Their waters spilled a little from her doing so. "Well… It's a popular restaurant. I just wanted to make sure…" Sora said unsure, but Kairi gave him a glare.

Sora looked around the room, and his lie wasn't supported at all.

A woman with white hair and a blue windbreaker was writing on a lottery ticket slowly and man across the room was either fast asleep or drunk on a table.

"Oh yeah, Sora. This place is hoppin'." Sora rolled his eyes. "Can we just order already?"

"… Fine. But I'm not letting this go." Kairi lifted up her menu and intensely read. "You never let anything go, Kairi." Sora noticed she tightened her grip on the menu and he mentally chuckled.

Kairi looked at the menu but only paid attention to the pasta section. It was her favorite food. She would eat it all the time, but she was worried she would get fat. Her mom would always make her special Fettuccini Alfredo and it turned into her favorite meal for dinner.

"Can I take your order? Sorry about earlier, I'm a bit better now." Sora and Kairi looked up and raised one eyebrow. Sara's ponytail was out of place and her pink lipstick from earlier was smeared all over her lips.

"Sexy," Sora snorted. The waitress looked confused. "Ahem, anyway. I'll have the Chicken Alfredo, thanks." Kairi's eyes gestured towards Sora. He was still trying to contain his laughter.

His voice shaking, Sora replies, "Same thing, thank you."

"You're so immature, you know that right?" Kairi started drawing on a napkin.

"Hey, you have to admit that was funny," Sora chuckled, but all Kairi did was shake her head. "You know, I thought I heard some banging in the kit-"

"Don't finish that sentence, Sora."

Sora laughed once more and did his signature hands behind his head. "Does this moment remind you of anything?" He smirked.

_Sora stood nervously behind Kairi's front door. He wore dark skinny jeans, converse, a striped black and white t-shirt. This was his very first datr with Kairi and he was nervous as hell. Sora took a huge breath and knocked on the door. _

_Sora had heard a distanced "Oh my God he's here!" and he smiled. At least he wasn't the only nervous one. The door opened, and it revealed Kairi's father. _

"_Hello, Sora! Come in!" Kairi's step-mom's voice rang from the kitchen. Sora bowed before entering the house and walked in. "How are you Mr. Hikari? Mrs. Hikari?" _

"_We're wonderful, Sora," Mrs. Hikari placed a hand on Kairi's fathers chest. "Look, Sora. We trust you a lot tonight. We feel very comfortable with the fact you're taking her out tonight. You're a good guy." Sora was surprised to hear this coming from her fathers mouth._

"_T-thanks, Mr. Hikari. It means a lot. I will never hurt your daughter. She'll be back before 11:30 tonight, I promise." _

"_Gosh, Dad, don't make him think you're going to stab him or something." Sora started to laugh at the floor until he looked at the bottom of the stairs to see Kairi in a red sundress that tightened around the waist with a black satin belt and the rest flowed down to above her knees. Kairi gave Sora a grin and walked towards him. "I'm ready to go." _

"_11:30, Sora." Sora nodded at Kairi's fathers reminder. Sora opened the door for Kairi and they both headed out of the house, onto the porch._

"_I didn't think it was possible for you to get any more beautiful, but you just did the impossible," Sora stated. Her put both of his hands around her cheeks and looked into her violet like eyes. Kairi smiled. "I've been waiting to finally do this, Kairi…" Sora leaned down, but before he could even make a move, she slipped right out of his hands and walked towards the car, laughing. _

"_Oh I see how it is!" Sora started to run towards Kairi, but she stopped in her tracks. Kairi pulled Sora's collar and pulled him close to her face. Closing his eyes, Sora waited for a kiss, but instead a peck on the cheek is what he got. "Come on, lazy bum. We're going to be late for our dinner reservations!"_

_As Kairi kept her eyes out the window, she noticed that they drove past the Italian restaurant they originally had reservations for. _

"_Um, Sora?" _

"_You'll see." _

_Sora pulled up to Destiny Islands, parking just before the sand hit. He opened his door and ran over to Kairi's, opening her door. "Why, thank you." She took his hand and he led her down the sand. _

"_Where are you taking me?" Kairi asked. "Just close your eyes and take my hand." Sora was lucky Kairi trusted him that much. _

_Kairi had to admit she was a little scared. Destiny Islands had a lot of rocks lying around and at the moment both of them were barefoot, so one rock could split a toe. She trusted Sora, though. _

"_Okay stand right…. Here. Now. Open your eyes." Kairi giggled before taking her hands away from her eyes. _

"_Only you would, Sora."_

_A fairly large plaid blanket was set just beside their usual palm tree in the sand. Two candles were set side by side in the middle of the blanket, with two plates on two side of the blankets. Fettuccini Alfredo was placed on both of the plates, aside with paopu fruit juice. _

"_Believe it or not, I actually made the pasta. I wanted to try something new, but mostly because I'm broke," Sora laughed. Kairi had a huge smile on her face. "This is way better than any date I've been on… well. It's the only one. But I'll definitely remember this." Kairi took Sora's hand, squeezed, and walked over to the dinner set. _

"_You're joking, right?" Sora asked as they both sat down. "What do you mean?" Kairi took a sip of her drink._

"_You've never been on a date before?"_

"_Why is that so hard to believe?"_

"_B-because you're beautiful and amazing and any guy would be stupid not to ask out a girl like you." Kairi blushed at this. "I've had offers, but… I just turned them down. I wanted a guy to ask me out that would actually want to be with me for me and not just for something else…"_

"… _No one has tried to… you know…" Kairi's eyes widened. "God, no!" Sora breathed a sigh of relief. He took a hold of her hand and spoke. _

"_I'll never take advantage of you like that." _

"_You're different, Sora. I know you won't. I just hope you won't leave me, that's all…" Sora frowned in disgust. "I'll never leave you. Maybe to go to the grocery store, but…" Kairi let out a laugh and let go of his hand to playfully shove him._

"_Hey… I have an idea." Sora stood up, and took Kairi's hand. "What are you doing, Sora?" Sora gestured towards the ocean. _

"_Oh, no! I spent forever on my hair and this dress shouldn't be in water," Kairi stated as she crossed her arms. "… Then how will you wash it?"_

"… _What's your point?" Before Kairi could argue once more, Sora bent down and flipped her body into his arms. "SORA, NO!" Sora started laughing as he ran towards the clear blue currents. _

_Sora kicked off his converse, his socks follow, and started to reach the water. It wasn't as cold as he thought, and it felt so good under the sunset. When the couple got to the part of the ocean that was deep enough, Sora took a huge jump, and they both fell under._

_Kairi opened her eyes to see Sora grinning at her under water. She swam to the top of the water and let out a huge breath._

"_Sora I hate you so much!" Kairi yelled as she pulled her hair out of her eyes. "No you don't. You know you wanted to do this," Sora giggled. Kairi rolled her eyes. Sora pulled Kairi closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist." What Kairi did surprised him._

_Kairi took the ends of Sora's shirt threw it over his head towards the sand. "K-Kai?" Kairi dunked his head underwater far enough for him to struggle. She followed._

_Sora opened his eyes to Kairi's. She took both of her hands and put them on his cheeks. _

_And kissed him._

_Their first kiss. _

_Sora put his arms around Kairi's waist once again and continued to kiss the girl of his dreams. The two couple didn't care about the limited amount of air supply. They knew when it was time to stop, but it was definitely not now. _

_Soon enough they kicked their legs to the top of the water again and their lips let go._

"_You're right, I did want to do this." _

_Sora leaned in for a second kiss, but it still felt like the first one. Kairi giggled as they struggled to float above the water, but continued to kiss him. "Sora, I don't think gravity wants to deal with us right now." Sora looked around the ocean._

"_Do you trust me?" Sora swam a little ways away from her, and extended his hand. _

"_What? Are we going on a magic carpet ride now?" Kairi giggled. _(**A/N:** If you don't know what that reference was to, do not keep reading this… XD)

_She grabbed Sora's hand, took a deep breath, and the two dived down the water. When they arrived above the water again, Sora decided to break out a moment. "I can show you the world! Shining shimmering splendid!" _

_Kairi's side hurt from laughing so much, and especially when trying to keep her weight above the water. She had to admit that even though he was trying to be funny, Sora still had a wonderful voice. _

"_I'm pretty sure Axel would orgasm right now if he heard you sing that. He loves that movie," Kairi giggled._

"_Yeah, he loves Roxas too but you don't see him doing THAT out of nowhere."_

"No… it doesn't." The two were almost done with dinner when Kairi finished her memory. She looked up to the mall and saw the time. "Shit, Sora! We have to go. We're totally off schedule. We're suppose to be at Traverse Town in like a half hour and we're almost two hours away."

Sora frowned. "Um, alright." He put forty-dollars on the table (probably more than what the recipe had said) and the two headed towards the exit.

"You've GOT to be kidding me."

Outside, rain was down pouring from the sky. "Hurry to the car!" Sora yelled as he opened the door for Kairi.

Sora and Kairi made it to the car but they didn't come back exactly dry. It was enough for Sora to turn on the heater in the car. "Man, that rain came out of nowhere, I swear. How did we not notice that while we were eating?" Sora asked scratching the back of his damp hair.

But Kairi wasn't listening. She was still remembering the memory from early. "The theory you have is very believable, I'm loving the silence," Sora sarcastically said as he pulled out of the driveway of the restaurant.

Sora was driving for about a half hour when he noticed the gas tank flashing. _Shit… Calm down, Sora. You'll make it. _He turned over to the Kairi, and she was still staring off into nothing.

"Kairi, are you oka-" Sora was cut off when they started to slow down. They were out of gas.

"Did we just run out of gas?" Kairi asked making no eye contact.

"Um… that's what she said?"

"Dammit, Sora!" Kairi yelled. Sora slammed his hand on the steering wheel and covered his face. "I knew I should have gotten gas once we passed the accessory shop."

"I'll call the nearest gas station. See, Sora? This action I'm doing right now is called being mature. You should try it sometime!" Kairi frowned and looked at her phone. "BUT OF COURSE. No bars. There's a pay phone right there. I'll be right back."

"Oh hell no! You're not going out there alone."

"Sora, I have to call Nam and Roxas anyway to tell them we're going to be late. Try and start the car somehow. Maybe it's just the electrical. Didn't Riku show you a long time ago?"

"Kai… that was seven years ago. How am I suppose to remember that?" Sora asked with attitude. "I don't know, try remembering it more than you remember our relationship." Kairi slammed the door shut and put her hood over her head and started to run towards the pay phone. Sora got out of the car also and opened up the hood of the car, even though he knew that they were out of gas.

Sora saw that a mysterious man was behind Kairi at the pay phone, but tried to shake it off. _Maybe he's in line for the phone… I'll run over just to make sure…_ Sora walked slowly over to Kairi and the man. From afar, Sora suddenly saw the man putting his hands on Kairi's waist. She reacted quickly and hung up the phone. Sora started to run over to them, then ran faster once she tried to push him away, but he wouldn't budge.

"Get the hell off of me, you perve!" Kairi shoved him again, but with no success. She yelped when the man grabbed her arm hard. Sora was at a full sprint.

"Hey! HEY!" The man forced a kiss on Kairi and she was crying at this point. Sora grabbed the man's shoulder, shoved him off with great strength, and punched the man square in the nose, and kicked him down below. Sora squeezed his face in the pain his hand was in, but shook it off. The man fell to the ground in pain. "FUCK OFF, DUDE!" Sora yelled at him.

Sora grabbed Kairi's hand and ran towards the car. He opened the drivers door and gently put Kairi in the car, her crawling in the back seat. He heard something he never wanted to hear, and it was Kairi wailing at the top of her lungs. Sora crawled to the back seat taking a seat next to her.

"Ssh, ssh, it's okay, Kairi, he's gone, see? He's not there anymore he's driving away, okay? You're okay, you're gonna be okay." Kairi continued to sob at the terrifying moment that just occurred. "Shit…" Sora looked around and grabbed two blankets from the back of the car. He wrapped one around Kairi, and then the other around both him and Kairi. She was shivering and still crying, and it broke Sora's heart.

"Kairi, look at me. Look at me!" Her violet eyes were a grey color and it was filled with horror. "W-what if he d-did something t-to me? Sora, I'm s-scared! What's going to hap-"

"KAIRI! He drove away! You're going to be fine. No one is going to hurt you. I'll protect you no matter what." Sora wrapped his arms around Kairi, as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Her crying died down when she realized the man was gone and out of site.

"I-I got your shirt really wet…" Kairi stated. Sora chuckled. "I… really don't care. It looks better on you anyway."

This moment reminded him of the old days. The days where they use to hold each other until they fell asleep. Or watch a movie. Or if Kairi just had a bad day.

"Hey… how about you try going to sleep?" Kairi nodded.

Sora took a shot at trying to lighten up the mood. "R-remember on our first date when I took you out to the water? I think we ended up just like this that night." Sora laughed. He was waiting for a punch in the arm and for her to shove him off, but she surprisingly started laughing.

"And then my dad got so mad that we were all wet."

"And he got so pissed because it was like, what, 11:35 when I promised to drop you off five minutes before then?" They both started laughing at this. It felt so good to Sora for him to reminisce with Kairi like this without any fighting. "I'm surprised you remembered that…" Kairi almost whispered. He could tell that she would fall asleep any minute.

"W-well… like you said. I remember our relationship more than fixing a car."


	8. Nightmares and Day Scares

The sun hit Sora's eyes early that morning and as he stretched, something stopped him; he noticed two arms wrapped around his waist, a head nuzzled into his chest, and one of his arms under both of their heads as a pillow. It was Kairi.

_Oh my God, I was sure that was a dream… _Sora thought to himself, but then smiled at the reality that she was still in his arms.

When Sora went to move one of his legs, though, (one of them had Kairi's legs wrapped around his own) his jeans were still wet from the rain from a couple of hours earlier. It was both uncomfortable and awkward. But if it meant having the girl of his dreams in his arms, he'd take anything in return. Sora held onto Kairi tighter after having this thought jammed into his head.

Sora frowned at why they were in this particular position, though. He remembered the man that tried to force himself onto Kairi last night. Sora felt disappointed in himself for not being able to protect Kairi from him. _If I went with her to the phone booth, none of this would have happened… she's probably not even going to speak the whole car ride to Traverse Town… _Sora thought. He lightly squeezed Kairi's waist, not wanting to let her go.

When he breathed in, his two favorite smells in the world were among him; rain and Kairi's strawberry perfume that she would buy every Christmas that lasted up until about late June. She says she always buys it because the smell 'compliments her hair color.' Sora never really got that until now… The smell reminded him of all of the times he would hug her, hold her, or kiss her. It was sort of like the smell of the past.

But while Sora was enjoying the moment, Kairi was having a nightmare.

**Kairi's POV**

_When I walked into school this morning, it felt like everyone was staring at me in disgust. I didn't do anything wrong, did I? And my outfit wasn't that bad of a choice today... Did I have a zit or something? Suddenly, a petite girl with red hair walked up to me. _

_"Are you happy NOW, Kairi?" I made a face. "Um, excuse me?" But she walked away. What the heck was happening? I saw two girls crying in front of Sora's locker, leaving a note. _

_Okay, what the hell._

_I saw Namine, which I hoped she could give me some answers. "Namine, what is going on?" She looked at me not with sympathy, but... disappointment?  
_

_"While we were all at the hospital last night, what were you doing? Enjoying your lovely weekend?" She crossed her arms. Her blue eyes had puddles in them. Why was she crying? Wait... hospital?  
_

_"A hospital? I don't get what you're saying." _

_"Kairi, Sora's dead."_

_Nothing surrounded me now. I heard nothing. My legs felt numb. My heart rate decreased by a mile. I couldn't tell if I was breathing or not. "W-... what?" I managed to say._

_"He was walking to your house to apologize for everything, and he got hit by a car. He didn't know where he was going. Are you happy now? You hate him and he's dead. This is your fault, Kairi." _

_I didn't know which way was left or right, I just walked away. I don't know where. Sora's dead because of me. _

_Oh, God. I won't be able to live with this guilt._

_Then I was in a black room with only one spotlight on me, and a picture in front of me. How did I get here? I picked up the picture, and my heart shattered._

_It was a picture of Sora and I on the beach; one of the few pictures he actually smiled. My breathing became slower, to the point where I could barely breathe. No. He can't be gone. I still love him... Wait. Do I? _

_Suddenly, Sora in the picture vanished, leaving me alone on the beach in a black dress, walking over to the usual hangout with a grave next to it. Sora was standing next to it._

_"Hey Kai." Sora flashed a brilliant smile, extending his hand. A tear fell down my face, and I took his hand. "Hi, Sora." I managed to smile. "I wanted to be with you, but fate seemed to not want me to," Sora said sadly. _

_"I... I want to be with you, though." _

_"Apparently not." Sora was gone. Forever. _

_"DON'T LEAVE ME!" I might as well been screaming at his grave now.  
_

At that moment, Sora heard a gasp come out of Kairi's lips. _Oh God she's awake! Prepare to be slapped, Sora._ He closed his eyes.

_Oh thank, God. It was just a dream... _Her heart rate seemed to slow down at this, keeping her calm. Kairi went to move, but uncomfortable clothing was what she was wearing. "Oh my God, I feel disgusting," Kairi said slowly. Sora bit his lip to contain his laughter, but he let it out anyway. "What are you laughing at?"

"Just.. The way you said that. It was funny," Sora explained. Kairi lightly laughed and let out a sigh. "Well wet clothes plus a humid car doesn't have a very good mixture. I feel all itchy…" This caused Sora to laugh even more, but then he turned serious.

"Are you okay?" Sora looked at the ceiling. Kairi turned from her side to lye on her back, and looked at Sora. "I'm fine, I guess. I had a really bad dream, that's all..."

"I'm sorry, do you want to talk about it?" Kairi shook her head no, smiling thankfully, but it hurt for her to smile. "My cheek kind of hurts from him squeezing it…" Kairi shivered, causing Sora to hold onto her tighter. "I'll be fine. But, Sora… Thank you. I'm not a strong person at all, so I doubt I would have been able to esc-"

"Stop. Don't think like that. If something worse had happened to you…" Sora pinched the space between his eyes and let out a sigh. Kairi grabbed his hand and made him look at her.

"Sora, look at me. Am I hurt? No. Am I alive? Yes." Sora's strikingly blue eyes stared into her violet like ones.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to." Sora's voice shook. Kairi's eyebrow furrowed. "What?"

Sora squeezed Kairi's hand and leaned into Kairi. He hesitated when he was an inch away from her lips, but just as their lips barely brushed against each others, Kairi's loud ring tone from her phone that was between them blasted the car. The two practically jumped away from each other.

"Shit… H-hello?" Kairi basically yelled into the phone. Sora sat up and sat at the other end of the baack seat. "Oh, hey Namine." Sora could hear her yelling from here.

"WHAT THE HELL, KAIRI? ARE YOU OKAY? You call me and I hear this weird guy on the other end of the phone and you hung up and you aren't here so tell me the what the hell is going on! Did you get raped? What-"

"NAMINE! I'm fine! I'll tell you when we get into Town. We'll be there in about two hours," Kairi assured. She closed her eyes in stress and sighed. "The main point is we ran out of gas, so we'll get that. I'll talk to you later." Kairi closed her phone and sat back.

"Well… we're on the road again. First we need new clothes." Kairi opened the car door and stretched.

_HOLY SHIT. You two almost kissed, how is she so calm? _Sora yelled inside his head. _Was she leaning in too? Did she want to kiss me? What happens no- _

Sora's thoughts were interrupted when a pair of clothes hit his face. "Put those clothes on, you look horrible," Kairi stated.

"Well, same goes to-" Kairi shot him a glare. "Nevermind." Sora grinned.

Sora opened the car door and escaped to the passengers side of the car. He put the clothes Kairi picked out for him on the crease of the window, and began to pull the ends of his shirt revealing his abs. Kairi's eyes widened.

"W-what are you doing?" Kairi asked confused. "Um, getting dressed? It's basically a deserted road so no one will see me. Except you." At the last sentence, he raised his eyebrows jokingly. Kairi rolled her eyes and looked away.

Sora finally tore off the rest of his damp shirt, and Kairi tried to push every urge to turn around and see his perfect body. All those years of Sora constantly competing with Riku definitely paid off. Kairi's back was turned to the car, but then she looked at the side view mirror and saw him.

His chest was perfectly toned, not huge, but there was still a tone of muscle. Kairi bit her lip and turned away from the mirror. _Dammit, Kairi. You almost kissed him, what the hell is wrong with you? _

"I'm done!" Sora yelled from the other side of car. Kairi breathed out a sigh of relief, but then panicked. Where the hell was she suppose to get dressed?

"U-um… I'll change in the back seat. Do. Not. Look. If you do, say goodbye to your manhood." Sora closed his legs and nodded. "I'll just… call the gas station and ask them to deliver some to us." Sora turned away and leaned against the car door, dialing the 411 for the number of the gas station.

Kairi grabbed the most decent shirt she could find of Sora's and entered the back seat. The shirt was a plain navy blue v-neck.

"Hi, I was wondering if you could deliver gas to us? We kinda ran out last night." Sora was listening to the voice on the other end. "Thanks so much. We're about 5 miles ea-" Sora was cut off when he looked in the exact mirror Kairi was look at when she was looking at him. Just as he saw her, she revealed her torso, her stomach, but he looked away before she could reveal anything else. Sora's eyes widened. _Was it possible for her to become more beautiful? _

"Hello? Sir?" The voice on the phone asked. Sora gulped. "U-um, 5 miles east. Sorry, I got a little side tracked…"

Sora hung up the phone and was thankful they'd finally be on their way to Traverse town. He heard the car door slam shut.

"Much better." Kairi rested her hands on her hips and smiled. She looked perfect in anything to Sora.

"Good. The gas should be here in a couple of minutes." Kairi nodded. "So… how'd you sleep?" Sora asked.

"Drunk apparently. I must have been messed up to be sleeping next to…" Kairi trailed off and looked at him. She didn't mean to have a look like that in return; Sora's eyes were sad. "I mean… good, I guess." Kairi sighed.

"I'm so excited to see Roxas and Namine. I bet they're so happy together," Kairi confessed. Sora nodded and smiled. He was so glad that two of his best friends were together. He already knew that they would be together forever.

Sora laughed. "I still remember when he confessed his feelings to her, too. That was the same day that I…" He frowned, remembering the memory.

_Sora and Kairi were nicely hidden behind their usual hang out tree, watching Namine stomp over to Roxas angrily. "Oh my God, Sora! This is it! I just know he's going to confess." _

"_No way, my money's on Namine confessing first," Sora matter-of-factly stated. Kairi threw him a look. "Oh really? Game on, Strife." Kairi offered her hand to Sora. He grinned and shook. "Game on."_

"_ROXAS!" _

"_I'm not in the mood, Namine." Roxas faced the ocean. "Your mom isn't in the mood for your grades, Roxas, I don't care if you aren't in the mood to talk! What the hell was that about?" Namine rushed over to Roxas and forced him to turn around. _

"_What do you mean?" Roxas lied through his teeth. _

"_What do I mean? What are you trying to pull, Roxas? Seifer asks me out, you punch him, and then walk away? Roxas, what is gong on? You're sort of acting like a girl right now," Namine confessed as she crossed her arms. _

"_Nam, he's a douche bag. I can't have you going out with him!" Roxas threw his hands in the air. "Why do you care? You're going out with my BEST FRIEND!" Namine's eyes swelled up with tears. _

"_Sora… I didn't mean for this to happen. I don't want her to get hurt…" Kairi squeezed his hand, causing Sora to blush. "They'll be okay, Kairi." _

_Roxas turned his head to Namine. "I only did that to make you jealous. We're not actually going out. Everyone knows she loves Sora." At this Sora's eyes widened like crazy and Kairi's face turned 6 different shades of red._

_Namine sniffled. "W-what?" Namine managed to say. Roxas walked slowly over to Namine. He cupped her face in his hands, and wiped away a tear on her cheek, and without any hesitation, kissed her square on the lips. Namine's eyes widened, but she slowly closed them. _

_Kairi digged her nails into Sora's hand and squeeled. "I think I just wont that bet, Sora." He turned to look in her eyes. "Um… I don't think so. He never said anything," Sora argued. "Let's make this more interesting. How about whoever loses, they have to jump into the ocean with clothes on." Kairi grinned and shook his hand again. _

_When the two looked back at Roxas and Namine, they were still kissing. "Are they human?" Sora asked questionably. _

_Roxas finally let go, but rested his forehead onto hers. "I think I'm in love with you." Namine smiled. "Actually I don't think. I know I'm in love with you." Namine then laughed. _

"_YEEEEEEEES!" Kairi jumped in the air and screamed. "ENJOY THE COLD, WINTER WATER, STRIFE!" She pointed her finger in front of Sora. His eyes widened and grabbed her hands and shoved her down to the ground. Sora put his hand over her mouth and his other hand to hold onto both Kairi's hands. "Shut up!" Sora yelled in a whisper. _

"_Ahem." _

_Sora and Kairi looked up to see Roxas' arm around Namine and her arm around his waist. _

"_Oh hey, guys! What's up?" Sora smiled widely. _

"_We were just… Um… making some sand castles. No big deal or anything." Sora grabbed some sand and made it stand up, only to have it fall. _

"_Sleep with one eye open tonight, Sora," Roxas exclaimed walking away hand in hand with Namine. _

_Kairi stood up and held out her hand. "Come on, you." Sora grinned. "Where are we going?" He took her hand, and Kairi ran towards the ocean. _

"_Oh come on, Kairi! I was kidding," Sora begged. "Um, I don't think so, Sora. Go on ahead." Kairi crossed her arms. _

_Sora baby whined, went on his knees, and took Kairi's hands. "Kairi Hikari, if you love your best friend, you will not let me go in that ice cold winter water." Kairi blushed madly at what he said. _

"_S-sorry, Sora. A deal is a deal." Sora sighed and lowered his head. _

_He went to face the water, and turned back to Kairi. "I guess you don't love me." Sora ran into the water and dived in once he got deep enough. Kairi's smile fell. _

_Sora finally emerged from the bottom of the ocean. "What makes you think that?" Kairi yelled to him. _

"_Wait… what?"_

"_What makes you think I don't love you?" _

_Sora's heart started to beat a thousand times a second. He slowly started to walk out of the water and towards Kairi. He had drenched shorts and a t-shirt, but at the moment he didn't care. Sora was now standing in front of Kairi. _

"_I'm not sure it's possible for you to love me as much as I love you, Kairi." Sora licked his lip and shakily breathed in, leaning forward. As he was about to kiss the only girl that has been on his mind, water from his hair trickled down Kairi's nose and chest, and she started to giggle. _

"_Really?" Sora laughed. "This WOULD happen." _

"_KAIRI! Time to head home! Say bye to Sora!" Kairi's mom yelled at her. It was one of the few times her mom and dad were actually home. _

"_Um… I'll see you later…" Kairi said as she bit her lip. As she went to turn around, Sora took her hand, turned her towards him and put her into an affectionate hug. _

"_Sora… you're getting my clothes all wet." _

"_Oh… sorry, hun." Kairi blushed at this. Sora kissed her forehead, lingered for a couple of seconds, and finally let her go. "If I go home and catch an pneumonia," Sora said as he gave her the 'I'm watching you' motion. Kairi laughed and headed towards her house. _

_Sora smiled widely, laughed, and ran towards the ocean. All of the times he'd try to confess his feelings towards her, the jealousy of other guys, and everything else was behind him, and he jumped in the ocean, screaming, "YES!" _

_Kairi shook her head, "What a nerd."_

"HELLO? Un-naturally red haired girl and guy whose hair defies gravity! Here's your gas."

Sora and Kairi snapped out of the memory.

"Sorry, man. Here," Sora handed the man the money.

Kairi watched as Sora talked to the man; Sora laughing and smiling, shaking the mans hand.

The one thought rang, screamed, lingered in her brain.

_I miss you, Sora._

_

* * *

_

**OHAI GUYS. I decided to update early this time. :) BUT OH SNAP KAIRI MISSES SORA? LE GASP. I hate giving you guys cliffhangers, but I just had to. XD  
**

**So I'm about to talk a little bit about my personal life. Sooo there's this guy that I really like and we're getting pretty close. He talks to me after Algebra now. I'm always either really shy or REALLY energetic. LOL. Last night I had a choir concert and I smile at him and he looks down at me and says, "Oh hey how's it going?" and I'm just standing there, but then I grunt to indicate I'm frustrated and he goes, "wait wait... Everytime I talk to you, you're really dramatic and tend to over exaggerate things. Do you mean to?" He was laughing, so I didn't take it offensively. I'm an over exaggerant person, I get it. XD But my friends all, "OOOOMG He'd only say that to you if he thought you it was cute!" I try to believe her lol. But I like him. A lot.**

**And then I just had the PSAT's today. FREAKING FRUSTRATING. Everyone's like, "OMG THIS IS SO EASY" and I'm like, "OMG WHAT'S THE VALUE OF X?" But it doesn't matter if you pass or not, so that's good. I STILL WANT TO PASS THOUGH~**

**Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing! I just love hearing from you guys. :) I'll probably update this weekend!  
**


	9. Kicking and Crying

"Well… we're finally here," Sora stated. Kairi looked into space awkwardly, not really knowing how to approach the situation. "It was… a fun ride."

Kairi looked over at him, seeing him sad. "Sora…"

"KAIRIIIIII!" A light voice yelled out Kairi's window. Kairi turned over to her window and saw a short blonde girl with a white sundress on, and a huge smile spread on her face. "NAMINE!"

Kairi opened the car door and ran towards Namine, giving her a big hug. "Ugh, I haven't seen you in forever!" Namine yelled.

"It's been a week," Sora said annoyingly. As Kairi was still hugging Namine, Kairi threw Sora the middle finger. He smirked.

"Wow, Kairi. I'm surprised you don't have half of your hair missing," someone chuckled. They all turned to see a handsome tall blonde coming their way.

"You know, during the trip, I said I hated you. I think I was right," Kairi grinned. Roxas jokingly looked appalled. "But I still love you," She said giving him a side-hug.

Funny, those were the exact words Sora wanted to hear come out of her mouth, just not in that situation, obviously.

"Um… Kairi… Is that Sora's shirt?" Kairi's face fell when she heard that question. "O-oh this? Um…" Namine smirked, but Roxas nudged her.

"Sooo how about we get some lunch, guys?" Roxas said clasping his hands together, changing the subject. "Please. I'm starving!" Sora smiled happily, thinking of food. "We heading to Cid's restaurant?" Sora did his usual stance, putting both his hands behind his head.

"Sounds good to me!" Namine tangled her arm into Roxas', but then untangled after realizing something. "Um how about Roxas and Sora ride together, and I'll ride with Kairi. We've got a bunch of catching up to do!" Namine smiled.

"But we could always talk at the resta-"

"ROXAS! Just… ride with Sora." Namine looked into his eyes, giving him some kind of sign of what she was hinting towards. Roxas gave her a wink and followed Sora to his car.

Namine and Kairi hopped into Namine's small silver car, and headed to lunch.

"So… how was the road trip?" Namine asked. Kairi looked over at her annoyed. "Oh. My-"

"GOD! Dude I think she hates me even more after this trip!" Sora yelled, burying his face into his hands. "Oh come on, Sora, it couldn't have been that-"

"Bad, right?" Namine asked hopefully. "Namine, you might as well say we slept together. It was so awkward when I woke up. I don't know what I was on last-""Night," Sora said covering his face. "I don't know what I was thinking. But she looked so fragile and scared and I didn't know what to do and-" "Calm down, Sora." Roxas placed a firm grip on Sora's shoulder. "She probably appreciated it. Kairi knows how much you care about her and knows how much you want to keep her safe."

Namine threw Kairi a devious look. "And what the hell are you looking at?" Kairi asked with a snappy attitude. Then she realized it. "Oh my god, Namine, I'm not in love with him!"Namine grinned. "Okay, okay! But… make sure you bring protection tonight." Kairi's rage grew. "What did I just sa-""Kairi, there's going to be a thunder and lightning storm tonight." Her eyes widened. _Oh shit. _

"How may I take your order?" The waitress asked. Kairi wasn't the hugest fan of the arrangement at the table.

Roxas and Namine insisted on sitting together, so that left Sora and Kairi awkwardly together.

"I'm not hungry," Kairi told the waiter. Sora frowned. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" At this point, Kairi wanted to throw herself out the window. All she answered was with a shrug.

"I'll just have a pink lemonade. Roxas?" Namine asked. Roxas rubbed his chin at the menu. "Hmmm… I think I'll go for the chicken fried steak, mash potatoes, a side of fries, and a milkshake would be great."

"…"

"… I'll take a water," Roxas changed his mind and gave the waiter his menu.

"So… you guys might want to head back to the hotel early tonight. Like, as soon as we leave here," Roxas suggested. Sora was confused. "And why is this?"

"Well we've been having storms every night we've been here, and I'm sure tonight won't be an exception." Kairi's heart started beating.

Ever since she could remember, thunder and lightning storms have always been her number one fear in life. At home, she would sneak into her parents' bedrooms because she felt more safe. They rarely happened where she grew up, so when they did, it scared the hell out of her. There's never been a storm back at the dorms, so Kairi never had to worry about that. But now that it's coming back to haunt her nights sleep, she was not excited at all.

Sora turned to Kairi. "Are you going to be okay? I know you haven't been a fan of them," he said seriously; it wasn't a joke. Kairi let out a laugh. "Psh, I got over that a long time ago."

Namine grinned. "Oh really?" Kairi took her leg and kicked Namine, warning her to stop, but when Namine didn't flinch at all, she knew she just screwed up everything. "MOTHER F- What the hell? Who just kicked me?" Roxas yelled. Kairi turned red, but even though she failed the target, she still had a good kick.

If that's even something to be happy about.

"U-uh… Sorry, Roxas. I kicked you. You need to stop your little bad habits," Namine terribly lied. "What habit?" Roxas had a confused look on his face.

"Exactly… Oh here comes our drinks!" Namine happily rang, hoping to change the subject. They all said their thank you's to the drinks, and Kairi continued to awkwardly sit there, running ideas through her head on how she could be safe tonight.

She could go over to Roxas and Namines' hotel? But they'll never let her live it down. She could say that her hotel room wouldn't open? Yes. Yes that could work! But then they'll probably question her since she doesn't have a car and a license to drive over there.

_Dammit._

There was only one more option she could choose, and Kairi refused to let it happen.

"So, did you guys buy any souvenirs on your way here?" Namine asked to fill the silence. "No, I was about to buy a bracelet but it was a little too expensive for my taste. The only thing I bought was a water," Kairi explained, turning her head to Sora.

"Um, I'm not a souvenirs kind of guy. The only thing I bought was food." Roxas and Namine looked at each other. _What is going on?_

"Come on, you guys. You had over 12 hours to just the two of you, something HAD to have happened," Roxas said intertwining fingers with Namine and waiting for a story.

"Um… We went to a fair and rode a roller coaster… That's about it," Kairi lied. "Really? Then what's with you wearing Sora's shirt?"

Kairi's face was probably the color of a tomato. "Yes, Kairi, why ARE you wearing my shirt? Tell them the first story, it'll be a classic forever" Sora put both of his hands under his chin and grinned. She wanted to strangle him. "How about we tell the story some other time? I'm really tired and kind of want to head back to the hotel. I didn't get MUCH sleep last night as you all know because I know all of you obviously know the story since none of you shut up." Whoa, what was this all of a sudden? "Namine, I'll be in the car waiting."

Thankfully Kairi was at the end part of the table, so her escape was a success. For the time being, of course. "Um, Kairi, you're riding back with Sora to the hotel. I mean, no offense, but I don't see a reason why I would have to drive you if you could just ride with him," Namine said. Kairi let out a long sigh while looking up at the ceiling.

"I'll be waiting in your car then, Sora." and with that, she walked off. Roxas' eyebrows furrowed.

"Dude, what happened?" He asked. "Oh man, funny story. So we were at the gas station and-""I don't mean that story, dumbass," Roxas exclaimed. Sora's smile fell, and he shrugged. "I don't know, but I'll be dealing with a storm of my own in the car." He rolled his eyes. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Are we all still going to roam the town tomorrow?" Namine nodded. Sora left money for his Coke, and fled the store.

Sora opened the car door and climbed in, seeing Kairi at the front seat. Kairi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Sora cupped his hands over his mouth, and with a deep voice he dramatically said, "Warning. Warning. There is a bitch on the lose. I repeat, bitch on the lose." And then Sora stopped, but continued with his statement. "My car should really have a warning when you're in it."

"Sora, I don't have time to joke right now. I have a lot to do at the hotel."

"Oh, like what? Unpack the no clothes you apparently don't have, hence my shirt?"

Kairi's mouth was firm with anger. "No, actually. I have to take a shower because your selfishness is all over my body. Then I have to calm my mom who probably won't care if I made it or not. And then I have to sleep off these whole two days that I've had with you away."

Sora had to admit, that hurt. "Oh, ha, same here." He put the key in the ignition, and started the car. "Well thankfully this isn't a huge car ride. It's about 5 minutes from here."

Kairi mentally thanked the heavens, and relaxed in her seat. She couldn't help but hope to never be in this car ever again.

"So I guess we're all going shopping tomorrow.""Um, Namine and I are, you're going wherever the hell you want with Roxas doing guy stuff." Sora laughed. "Why do you assume that when guys hang together we do guy stuff? Seriously, what's your version of guy stuff?"

"Talking about sex, cars, and how much you want to be the crap out of certain people at school."

Sora just stared at her. "It's _Roxas _who we're talking about here. The most he'll talk about sex is what he saw in a movie because he respects Namine. We hate cars; do you SEE the piece of shit he's driving? And the only people we want to beat up Seifer because, well, everyone wants to be up Seifer." All Kairi did was blink. "I think Kairi just got told. Straight up." She rolled her eyes.

The hotel room was better than she expected. It was fairly large, but not quite a suite. Her bed was placed in the middle of the room near the window (joy) and the TV faced her. Kairi wanted a bigger bathroom, but she was okay with it. As long as she had somewhere to sleep.

Sora did not like his at all. He wasn't a fan of having everything absolutely neat. He'd have to undo the sheets or something. His room was exactly the same as Kairi's, but faced the opposite ways.

Kairi grabbed her cell phone and dialed her mothers number. She already knew that her mom's response would be, "Okay, have fun" and then she'd hang up. But who knows, it could be different.

"Hikari speaking," her mom's usual response on the phone rang. Kairi kind of felt offended because her mom KNEW it was her; she had caller ID.

"Hey mom. I made it to the hotel okay."

"Good, have fun on your trip." Kairi's face fell. "I'll talk to you-"

"Wait. Um… how's work?" Kairi had no idea why she just asked that.

"It's going well. Look, Kairi, I'm really busy-"

"Do you want to go for lunch when I come back?" What was this all of a sudden? "Sure, Kairi. I have to go, I'm very busy."

"Um.. Okay. I love you," Kairi said, and her mom hung up the phone. Kairi's gaze fell to the floor, and all she felt like doing was cry. Maybe a shower would fix that.

The steaming hot water hit Kairi's body as she let her worries go down the drain along with the water. It felt so good to her to be clean again. She had the smell of Sora and rain all over her; her two un-favorite things at the moment. She remembered the storm tonight and groaned. Kairi didn't know what to do. The last time there was a storm…

Of course.

_Kairi let out a contented sigh at the sound of the quiet rain as she let her head rest on her pillow, ready for a good nights sleep. She just spent the whole day with her best friend, Sora. She realized that she felt like it was more than a friendship to her, but Sora still hasn't said anything, so all Kairi could do was enjoy the moment. But there was always the possibility that-_

_BOOM! _

_Kairi's heart stopped as her bed lamp lost electricity and a bolt of lightning shot the sky. And of course of all nights, her parents are gone. She almost had a heart attack as her phone started to ring. Kairi put her hand over her chest to calm herself, and answering the phone._

"_H-hello?"_

"_Kairi! Are you okay?" Only he would know._

"_Sora! Oh my God, no. I'm not. Of all things that had to happen the electricity is out. Thank God I have cell phone service." Kairi clutched her blanket and tried not to cry. _

"_Kairi, give me ten minutes, I'll be over there in a flash," Sora promised. "Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?"_

"_No, that's okay. I don't want you driving and talking on the phone while there's a storm. You never know what could happen." _

"_Alright, I'll see you in a few." Kairi felt a little more relaxed now that Sora was coming to her rescue. Now all she had to do was wait ten miserably long minutes before he showed up. _

_What seemed like an hour later, Kairi's phone rang. "Sora?" She asked. "Hey it's me, your door is locked, can you open it?" Her eyes widened. "It's so… dark down there though. I don't even have a flashlight." She started to panic. _

"_I have an idea," and with that, Sora hung up the phone. Kairi looked at her phone offended, but she knew he was up to something. About 5 minutes later, surely she heard knocking at her window. Kairi let out a scream and threw her pillow at the window. _

_With a very faint voice with the rain, Sora yelled, "It's me, Kairi! Open up!" Kairi went over to her window and unlocked it. "Are you crazy? You could have gotten hurt!" Kairi hit his arm yelling._

"_Kairi, I've done this before," Sora said panting. "Yeah, when it was 90 degrees out, not when it's storming where you could easily trip and fall. You're an idiot sometimes."_

"_Fine, if you want me to go-"_

"_NO!" And then next thing Sora knew she wrapped her arms around his very wet waist. "Stay here with me." _

_Sora borrowed one Kairi's dads' plain white t-shirt since the other one was soaked, and walked into Kairi's room. He also brought her hot chocolate which always calmed her down. _

"_Um…" Sora started. "What's wrong?" Kairi asked. _

"_Where exactly.. Do I…" Kairi blushed. "Oh… um… I'll feel bad if you sleep on the floor so how about we both sleep on the floor so that it's a… safe… distance." This was awkward. Sora nodded. _

_Sora and Kairi set up their own little area about 5 feet away from each other with blankets and pillows. They both lay comfortably on the ground and faced each other. Kairi smiled. "I really appreciate you doing this, Sora." Sora smiled back. "It's no problem at all."_

"_I had a lot of fun today…" Kairi's voice started to get quieter. "Kairi there's something I want to tell you." _

"_Go… go.. Ahead…" She used every ounce of strength to stay awake, but she failed. "Really?" Sora laughed. "It'll have to wait, I guess…" _

_The next morning, Kairi awoke with the sun in her eyes. She went to stretch, but she found herself on her bed. "Wait… how…" She went to look over her bed, and Sora was lying on the ground with tired open eyes. "I hate you."_

_All he did was smile._

Kairi found herself crying on the shower floor, hot water trickling down her face. When she snapped out of the memory, she got up, turned off the water, and got out. The first thing she did was throw herself on the bed and buried her face in the pillow. Her red hair soaked up a section of the blanket, but she didn't care. Suddenly, someone knocked at the door.

"Shit." Kairi hurried over to a bathrobe, threw it on, and answered the door. "Oh my god what do you want?"

"A lot of things. A new car, money, maybe a job at-"

"Cut the crap." Sora grinned. "Just making sure if you'll be okay tonight." He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the door. "Nice outfit, by the way. Were you expecting someone else?"

Kairi shoved him. "No, I wasn't. And I'll be fine."

Sora put up his hand into a claw indicating her attitude, and left her doorstep. Kairi rolled her eyes and went to find dry clothes. She still had her pajama shorts from the beginning of the trip, and Namine lent her a t-shirt.

Kairi started to calm down as there was only a little trickle outside and no storm. Maybe tonight was an exception? She flipped off the tv, turned off the lamp, and let out a sigh. _Finally a full nights sleep without Sora either watching over me or next to me- _

BOOM!

_You've got to be shitting me. _

This storm was way more vigorous than the one she faced with Sora. After about an hour, she couldn't sleep. Burying every pillow over her ears and eyes didn't help, and her crying made the oxygen harder to breathe in such a little space. Her door knocked again.

Kairi screamed, but then went back to reality. Clutching a pillow, she walked over to the door and opened it. No one was there, but when she looked below her, she saw a cup of hot chocolate and a note.

_I know you're still awake, Kairi. Here's your hot chocolate. If you need company, I'm right next door. I'll be awake, trust me. -Sora. _

Kairi bit her lip, grabbed the hot chocolate, and walked next door. It didn't take more than ten seconds for Sora to answer the door, and when he did, her eyes widened.

All he was wearing was blue boxers and was shirtless.

"There's already a bed set up for both of us on the floor. Sorry I'm not very… formal. I figured you've seen enough before." Kairi glared at him, and walked in his room.

"Holy shit where did you get all of these pillows?" Kairi asked. Sora laughed. "Room service. I wanted it to be as comfortable as possible."

"So you just assumed that I would come over?"

"Well, yeah. But if not, more pillows for me." Kairi let out a small laugh and sat down. She blew on her hot chocolate and took a sip.

"Sorry I was such bitch today…" Kairi confessed looking down. "You're fine. I know I've been driving you crazy this whole trip," Sora laughed.

"You've been driving me crazy the day I met you, Sora."

"That's a long time," Sora said laughing.

"Well… I guess I'll head to bed." Kairi set down her cup, put the blanket over her shoulder, and closed her eyes. Sora did the same, but he faced the opposite way. "And Sora?""Yes?""Do not put me on the bed this time."

* * *

**OH MY GOD I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE JGKDJSLK. I have been SO busy with school. Pre AP Chemistry is just jkgdsljgklds. I hate it. A lot. But I was determined to write this and get it done. I didn't eat or go to the bathroom ALL DAY. That's dedication, guys. Haha. But I hope you all had a wonderful day off yesterday! And had an awesome Halloween. :) That'd be awesome if one of you had Sora's costume. Just saying.  
**

**Soooooo just to fill you in my personal life, the guy I told you I liked, he walked me to the other campus and all we talked about was Kingdom Hearts. He was like, "I'm on Mulan right now." And I just grunt because I did not like that level and then he grunts too, LOL. BUT THE BEST PART WAS he waited for me after class to head back to the other campus. jgkdslgjsdlk. And then all we talked about was Kingdom Hearts again LOL. He is so awesome. Oh! And I got all of my Chemistry homework right! LEWIS DOT DIAGRAMS, NBD.  
**


	10. Sundresses and Sea Salt

Sora awoke with the sun blinding his eyes. He felt as though he had a massive hangover, but he didn't even drink last night. He looked at the position he was in below him.

One of his legs were straight and under the blanket, but the other was curved and out of the blanket. One of his arms were under his pillow, and the other.. Was around Kairi's pillow.

Kairi had both of her hands below her cheeks and she had a blanket perfectly wrapped around her. It seemed like she didn't move an inch the whole night. Sora grinned. He wished he could just lye there all day, admiring her, wishing she was his.

As Sora was about to get up to make some coffee, his heart stopped at what happened and panicked. Kairi stretched and wrapped her self around Sora.

_SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT WHAT IS GOING ON WHAT DO I DO?_

His heartbeat started to increase ten times and almost started to hyperventilate.

_I cannot awake the Kraken._

Sora squeezed his eyes shut and gently took Kairi's arm off of his chest and sighed of relief when she didn't wake up. His next challenge was to take her leg off that was around him. He held his breath, lightly raised it, and practically jumped ten feet away from the floor. Sora punched the air and smiled from the success.

Sora walked over to his phone to see twelve new text messages. "What the hell?" Why did he have so many texts?

**9:53 AM; Roxas** - Are you awake?

**10:00 AM; Roxas** - Dude, Sora wake up.

**10:30 AM; Roxas** - WHAT HELL DUDE GET YOUR ASS UP.

Sora rolled his eyes.

The rest of the texts were mainly just Roxas saying to wake up. But then it hit Sora, if one of those texts said 10:30... What time is it?

He about had a heart attack when he saw it was 1:00 in the afternoon. "Well SHIT!" Sora yelled. He saw Kairi stir in the blankets and slightly open her eyes, but ended up going back to sleep. _How did we end up sleeping in that late? Well, we didn't get a lot of sleep two nights ago so that could be the explanation… _

He slowly walked back over to Kairi sleeping safe and soundly. He hated to wake her from her slumber, but he had no choice. It was too late to sleep in and they had plans with Roxas and Namine.

"Kairi, hun, you need to get up." Kairi lifted her hand and grabbed Sora's face, squishing it. "Umm…"

"Do not. Wake me. I'll get up in five minutes." And then she let go. As Sora was about to get up, Kairi grabbed his hand and pulled him back down. "Make me coffee, stat."

"Kairi, I am not your-"

"Bitch, I know, just make me coffee. Or did you want to buy me some at a shop?" Sora rolled his eyes and pried her hand off of his arm. "It's gonna be the cheap kind, I hope you know that." Once he heard a snore, he threw his hands in the air and rolled his eyes once again.

Sora then heard a giggle. "Just kidding, I'm up."

_She's oddly chipper this morning… I'm just waiting for the beast to awake. _Sora thought.

"God, I have so many missed calls," Kairi said bewildered. "Well… check the time, that'll give you an explanation," Sora suggested. Kairi furrowed her eyebrows and looked at her phone.

"1:14? SORA!" Kairi grabbed the nearest pillow, ran over to Sora, and started to beat him with it. "Kairi, what the hell are you doing?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME? I'm suppose to hang out with my best friends and you totally sabotaged my time, God Sora!" Kairi yelled as she continued to hit him with the pillow.

"OKAY FIRST OF ALL! I woke up fifteen minutes ago! And two, I can have a restraining order on you!" At that, Kairi stopped. "Why couldn't you just wake me up once you got up?"

"Because you were all-" Sora widened his eyes and stopped himself because Kairi obviously forgot about putting herself all over him. Kairi glared.

"Sora, what were you going to say?" Kairi cocked her head. Sora started to step back. "Uh, nothing. I don't know what I'm talking about."

"Sora…"

"Kairi…"

Next thing Sora knew Kairi jumped on his back, laughing, but at the same time yelling at him. "SORA WHAT DID I DO?"

"NOTHING!"

Sora was running around with the love of his life on his back, scared for dear life. What could get better than that? But of course there had to be the elephant in the room.

Sora and Kairi looked up to their doorway to find Roxas with a cup of coffee in his hands with a grin on his face. Considering the fact that Kairi was on Sora's back and they were both laughing, you'd think he had a right to grin at the situation.

"Um… this isn't what it looks like," Kairi said as she jumped off of Sora's back.

Roxas crossed his arms with his drink still in his hands. "Um, that's not what it looks like to me," he said grinning. "Roxas, just give me ten minutes and I'll be ready, okay?" Kairi explained. Roxas nodded and closed the door.

Kairi ran a hand through her hair and looked around the room. "Where is my suitcase?" She said sighing.

"Kairi… you remember this isn't your room, right?" Sora asked. Kairi's eyes widened and her cheeks were flushed with red. "Oh… right. I'll just be.. Going then."

Kairi walked over to the door, but then turned around. "Thanks for last night, I guess…" Sora smiled and nodded. Kairi made her way out of his hotel room, and went down the hall to hers.

Sora ran a hand through his hair. "Pft… girls."

* * *

Kairi ran down the lobby to the front door and saw Roxas and Namine on the front bench holding hands, smiling. Kairi smiled sadly. She missed being in love with someone so much like they did. But everyone knew that Roxas and Namine had a different relationship than most people. They were completely honest with each other, they've never lied, they've only had about one fight barely. They were each others' best friends and no one could break that. They were the perfect couple, and people couldn't help but be jealous.

"Hey, you two! Ready?" Kairi asked happily. Namine smiled when she noticed Kairi's presence, "Not quite. Sora's upstairs. He said he got paranoid because he forgot to brush his teeth." Kairi rolled her eyes. Sora was always the hygienic freak.

Namine gave Kairi a look and stood up. She bent over to kiss Roxas on the cheek. "Hang on, I have to talk to her about something." Kairi's heart stopped. Namine lead Kairi a couple of feet away from Roxas.

"What exactly happened last night?" Namine said raising an eyebrow.

"Ugh, Namine… I really don't want to talk about it."

"Please?" Namine looked up with sad eyes. Kairi rolled hers. "Don't laugh at me…" Namine nodded. "I'm… still afraid of thunderstorms. I went over to Sora's hotel room…" Kairi looked at the ground.

Namine slightly giggled. "Namine! You promised you wouldn't laugh!"

"I'm not laughing that you're still scared, Kai! I'm just laughing because Roxas could have picked you up or dropped me off at your hotel room." Kairi's face was straight and pissed.

"No comment." Kairi grabbed Namine's hand and walked back over to Roxas, along with a new guest to the group.

"Use your floss?" Kairi asked annoyed. "Yes I did, thank you very much," Sora said, flashing a brilliant smile.

"Let's hit the shops!"

* * *

Roxas and Namine walked down the streets, holding hands, pointing out different shops. Sora and Kairi? Bickering, what else was new?

It was beautiful day in Traverse Town. The sun was near blinding, but there was slight humidity from the rain from the night before. Namine wore her usual sundress, today it was white. Kairi borrowed some shorts and a loose top from Namine, and she felt comfortable in it. Roxas almost matched Namine; he had worn a grey shirt with white stripes, black shorts, and black shoes. Sora wore his usual colors; blue shorts, a red t-shirt with his crown necklace.

"Oh, Kairi, this store is perfect!" Kairi quit her bickering with Sora and looked to her right, and saw a store full of sundresses. She smiled and was the first to walk inside.

"Why do I have a feeling this was a bad idea to come?" Sora asked himself, walking into the store. It was classy. He expected surfboards all along the store, but he remembered he was in Traverse Town and not Destiny Islands.

But he didn't want to think about that right now.

After about a half hour, Namine found 5 dresses to try on, but Kairi had none.

"Oh come on, Kai! I'll feel like everyone's just waiting for me and it's awkward. Can you please just try on one thing? Come on, there had to be at least one dress that really stuck out to you," Namine said.

"Well… there was a red one back there-"

"Well go get it, girl!" Namine cut Kairi off, shoving her towards the dress. Kairi laughed and went back to the corner she found it in. It was strapless and went just past her knees. Simple; the way she liked it.

The two girls were in the dressing rooms when Sora said, "Wow, Roxas, I'm surprised you aren't saying that you hate waiting around for Nam to try things on."

"Well.. Don't judge, but I kind of like it. Namine is already the most beautiful person I've met, so getting to see her even more beautiful makes it that much more fun."

Sora blinked. "Wow. My best friend HAS changed," he laughed, patting Roxas on the back.

Namine came out of her dressing room in a yellow sundress. It tightened just below her chest with spaghetti straps, landing a few inches below her knees. Sora looked up at Roxas who was looking at Namine lovingly.

"What do you think? Too bright? Too short? Too-"

"Beautiful. I like it," Roxas cut off smiling at her. Namine turned around to look at him and smiled and walked over to him to kiss him on the cheek. "Well I still have a few more but I'll keep it in mind!"

Everyone's heads turned to the dressing room next to Namine's when Kairi came out.

"Oh my God, Kairi! That looks so gorgeous on you! I am not kidding when I say it matches your hair to the tee," Namine announced. Kairi gave a sad smile. "Thanks…" she looked away from the full body mirror to go back to the dressing room.

"What's wrong with Kai?" Roxas asked confused. Sora was still stricken from how beautiful she looked.

Namine tried on the rest of her dresses and ended up buying the yellow one, just like Roxas had said. Plus it was on clearance, so of course her boyfriend had good taste.

Sora looked around the shop, but couldn't find Kairi. "Hey has anyone seen-"

"You talkin' 'bout the red headed chick?" The employee asked. The three teens nodded. "She walked out of the shop about five minutes ago."

"How the hell did she get out there so fast. I didn't even see her. She's an assassin, I'm telling you guys," Roxas joked, but with a serious face. Sora cracked a smile, but headed for the exit of the store. He automatically looked to his left and saw Kairi.

"Hey, what's up?" Kairi looked up to see Sora leaning against the wall, his eyes looking radiant in the sunlight that hit them.

"I-I'm just getting some fresh air," Kairi said folding her arms. "You're uh… you're not gonna buy the dress?" Sora asked disappointed.

"Um… no. It's.. too expensive," Kairi said embarrassed. "Oh… well it looked stunning on you. That's too bad…"

Kairi shot her head to him. He had a hint of a smile on his face, but he completely meant what he said. "Sure, Sora. We'll go with that." Sora rolled his eyes at her negativity.

The exit bell rang and the blonde couple exited the store. "Alright, what next?"

They all looked at each other in confusion. "Well… we could get some ice cream?" Roxas suggested. Every nodded in agreement. "They probably won't have sea salt, though… Damn Traverse Town." Roxas hung his head in shame, causing Namine to laugh.

"Oh come on, you twelve year-old. Let's get your ice cream." Namine intertwined her fingers with Roxas' and led the way.

Sora and Kairi looked at each other, but Sora did a bow, having his hand gesture towards her leading the way. Kairi rolled her eyes and messed up his hair, walking away. Sora shook his head. "Girls."

* * *

"So I was thinking tonight that we could all-"

"OH MY GOD!" Roxas shrieked. Everyone whip lashed their heads towards the blonde confused and a little scared. "What?" Namine yelled. "They have sea salt!" Everyone rolled their eyes. "Dude, guy, you who works here, dude, you have to get me like, the largest cup of that stuff."

"Um, the largest is seven dollars."

"Um, was I caring about price? Get up on that!" Roxas jumped up and down. "Why am I dating you again?" Namine asked jokingly.

Roxas gave her a look, walked over to her, grabbed her, dipped her to the ground, and planted a sweet kiss on Namine's lips. Her brought her up again, leaving her blinking. "And because I'd kick any other guys' ass if they tried to come near you, just saying. Ah! My ice cream."

Roxas took a large spoon and sat at one of the pink tables that was clearly meant for little kids.

Namine ended up getting sea salt, too, since that was from her hometown. Kairi ended up getting a mint chocolate chip milkshake, and Sora got a small cup of birthday cake ice cream. (AN: BEST. FUCKING. FLAVOR. OF. ICE. CREAM. EVER.)

They were about finished with all of their ice cream (well, except for Roxas who was trying to savor every second of it) when Sora yelled, "Dammit! I… left… my cellphone at that sundress store. I have to hurry back and get it. Sorry guys, trust me. I'll see you tomorrow, though!"

Kairi frowned. She remembered the last time he left like that, and she wish she didn't. They were actually in a similar situation… which made it even more sad for Kairi.

_Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Namine were all in Twilight Town for the week for summer and were all enjoying themselves. Being a teen during the summer meant being free, and they were having a great time. The two couples were at an ice cream shop, all ordering themselves the hometowns ice cream, Sea Salt._

_Although they were having a good time, there were still some problems with Sora. It seemed like he was distancing himself from his friends. He was in a gloomy mood a lot of the time, also. _

_Kairi looked over at Sora; he had sad eyes and was eating his ice cream slowly. Kairi wrapped an arm around his and looked at him contently. "Sora, are you okay?"_

_"I'm fine…" Kairi frowned, she knew he was lying. He wasn't a very good liar. _

_"Maybe we could hang out tonight? Take your mind off of things? I mean we practically just got her and-" Kairi was interrupted by Sora scooting away from the seat and standing up._

_"Um, I actually have a lot to do tonight. I have to call my mom, email some professors about a project that I allegedly 'failed', and… I just have a lot to do." Kairi wanted to cry. What was wrong with Sora? "U-um… okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."_

_Sora didn't respond. All he did was bend over and kissed her forehead. "I… I love you, Kai." And with that, he fled the shop. Kairi's expression look dumbfounded. She was so confused. Kairi looked towards her two best friends and they looked at her sadly. _

_"I-I… don't get it," Kairi said, choking back tears. _

_"It's okay, Kairi. Maybe he really is actually busy. You know Sora," Roxas said, adding hope in his voice. "Roxas, it's summer… I don't think he's busy," Kairi confessed, looking down at the table. "I feel like he's just… never there emotionally. Like his mind is somewhere else and he's thinking too hard about things._

_"Maybe he's having troubles at home?" Namine suggested. That would be a legitimate suggestion since his home life wasn't the best. "It's going to be okay, Kai. How about you sleep on it? Maybe tomorrow will be better."_

_Kairi nodded, grabbed her bag, and headed to the car. When they headed back to the hotel, Kairi didn't want to bother with Sora tonight. She decided to give him some space for tonight. _

_Kairi had gotten dressed into nightwear, climbed in her bed, and attempted to sleep. Her attempt was failed, for the only thing she could think of was Sora._

_When Kairi turned over and saw the clock, it showed 9:01 AM, and she thought that was late enough and that Sora should be awake. She just wanted to be held by him, she missed those nights. Kairi slipped into some shorts and a t-shirt with her schools logo on it and headed next door. _

_Sora had given her an extra hotel key when they got there, so she got in easily. Kairi looked around, but couldn't find Sora. The place looked clean, and even the bed was ready. Now she was completely confused. His bags were gone, too. _

_From across the room, she noticed a note attached to a mirror. Kairi had immediately drawn her attention to the note;_

_Kairi,_

_You've probably seen that I'm gone now. I'm so sorry… This may have not been the best idea, but… I feel like I can't fully commit myself for you. I'll be on a plane by the time you read this. I'll be at Destiny Islands helping with my mom. I'm so sorry._

_Sora._

_Tears started to drip on the note, making the ink sink through. Her hands started to tremble, making her way over to the bed. She held onto the pillow for dear life, bawling into it. It smelled just like Sora, and that's all she wished for. Was him to be with her there. She just wanted to hold him and tell him to never leave. But it was too late._

_He was already gone._

Sora fled without a second argument. "Why do I feel like that was staged?" Kairi asked, a little pissed off. "Because I think it was…. Well anyway. Namine and I are going to have a date tonight, so… I feel really bad for asking this but are you okay with ordering something from the hotel?"

"Oh my gosh Roxas you're too modest. I'm fine with that. I need to call my dad and stuff, anyway. We'll have dinner tomorrow?" Kairi asked happily. She really was fine with it, she didn't know why Roxas felt bad. Roxas smiled. "Definitely. Thanks, Kai."

Kairi opened her hotel room and sighed, falling onto her bed. "What a day… Why am I so tired? I got up so late," Kairi talked to herself. When she got up, she noticed a white bag set on her table next to the TV. "What… is this?" She wandered to the white bag slowly.

When Kairi opened it up, she gasped. "Wha-"

It was the dress.

"Wait… what?" the first thing Kairi did was walk over to the hotel phone and dialed the front lobby.

"Traverse Suites, how may we help you this evening?" A woman asked on the other line.

"Um, hi, I was wondering if someone walked into the lobby with a white bag in their hands?" Kairi hoped she would get an answer. "There was actually. He had big spiky brown hair. I believe he had either a red or blue shirt, I can't quite remember."

Kairi just stared at the wall with a blank expression. "Ma'am?" The woman asked. Kairi snapped out of it. "Thank you," she said, hanging up the line.

_Why would he buy that for me? I told him it was too expensive… Damn that boy!_

"Sora, my baby, how's the trip?" Sora's mom yelled into the phone. Sora sighed in disappointment, she sounded drunk. It was a bad time to call. "Um, fine mom, but when you check the bank-"

"Yeah, hun, I saw that! What's going on babe, what are you spending a dress on for eight-five dollars?" Sora pulled the phone away from his ear. She wasn't even making sense. "I… um…"

"Wait was it for Kairi? Oh that lady, love her to death! Was it for-" Hiccup. "Was it for Kairi, baby?" Sora rolled his eyes. "Yes, mom."

"Oh are you two back together? OH! Lilly!" Sora could hear a faint reply in the background. "Guess what! Sora and Kai are back together!" Then he heard cheering.

"Mom! What the… we're NOT back together! What are you talking about? It was just a gift…"

"Oh hun, that isn't a gift, that's a… well… a gift, but still!" Sora rolled his eyes once again. "I'm gonna let you go. Please don't drive anywhere and don't do anything you'll regret, mom."

"You tell me that every time you call me, what's the deal?" His mom yelled. "Just… never mind. I love you, I'll see you in a couple of weeks." and with that he hung up.

Sora loved his mom, he truly did. But at times… things would get out of hand for her. He can't blame her, though. No husband around, raising a growing teen by yourself. It must have been tough.

His phone danced in his hand, telling him he got a text. It was from Kairi. "Oh God, here comes the nuclear bomb."

**Kairi:** Why did you buy me this dress? Maybe I didn't like it.

Kairi impatiently waited for his reply. She did like the dress, she loved it actually. But she felt bad that he bought it for her. Her phone danced in her hand, now.

**Sora:** Do I need to repeat myself? I said you looked stunning.

Kairi blushed.

* * *

**SO. YOU MOST DEFINITELY HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO SHOTGUN ME IN THE HEAD RIGHT NOW. I feel like I totally abandoned you guys and gjdlkj I'm so sorry! November was a bad month because of finals before winter break and then winter break came along and I was so busy with family and stuff. Ugh. But I rewarded you guys? Haha. Hopefully you like this chapter.**

**Here's a little story; so my best friend Ryan and I are both basically obsessed with Kingdom Hearts, right? So for Christmas I got him the Roxas plushie at the mall. For Christmas my mom bought me the Sora plushie. I was SO excited to give Ryan Roxas. I really was, because I know he'd love it. Then I get a picture text from him a couple of days later showing me a Roxas plushie when I haven't even given it to him yet... WHAT THE HELL. I text him saying that I was practically on the verge of tears because I got him that for Christmas. He calls me telling me that he was so sorry... But he got me Sora for Christmas. So basically, we bought each other plushies, but we both got them for Christmas by someone else. JGKSDLGJDS. I cried lmfao.**

**Anyways. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! You kind dig into Roxas' personality and Sora's mom and stuff. Read and review and I love all you guys. 3  
**


	11. Swimming and Smooching

The blonde couple and the two ex's were all together at a small café downtown from their hotel. Kairi felt a little awkward being next to Sora considering the fact that he got her the dress. She didn't know how to act around him. They were broken up… why would he get her that dress?

Kairi flushed and took a drink of her hot chocolate.

"I'm not gonna lie, this vacation isn't what I thought it was going to be," Namine frowned. Kairi gaped. "What, why?"

"Well, no, don't get me wrong I love spending time with you guys. But we haven't really done anything exciting lately…" Namine confessed. Even though it hurt, they all agreed mentally. Roxas grinned.

"Hey, don't you guys have a pool back at the hotel?" he asked. Sora's eyebrows raised. "Um, yes. Why?" Sora asked while folding his hands.

"How about we all go late night swimming tonight? Swimming when it's dark out is the best. Especially if we turn off the lights and turn the lights on in the pool." Roxas had a smile on that almost made him a 5 year old again.

"Well won't we make a bunch of noise outside?" Namine asked worryingly. "It's an inside pool," Sora added. "Well I think it sounds fun," Sora looked over at Kairi with hopeful eyes, "What about you, Kai?

Kairi snapped out of her thoughts, blinking vigorously, and stared at the table, "U-um, I'm okay. I'll stay in the hotel room." Sora frowned.

"Aw, come on, Kairi! It'll be fun! We can play chicken like we use to," Namine convinced her, laughing. Kairi gave a very unconvincing smile, and shook her head. "I'm okay, Namine. I'm really tired, anyway. I didn't get much sleep. But you guys should go!"

"It won't be the same…" Sora muttered, too quiet for Kairi to hear.

"Well… if you change your mind, you have to come down, alright?" Roxas smirked. Kairi smiled and nodded her head.

"Are you sure you're okay, Kairi?" Sora asked, hoping to get a real answer. Kairi made no eye contact. "I'm fine, Sora. If you'll excuse me, I'll head back to my hotel room now." Kairi grabbed her shoulder bag, put her money on the table, and started to leave. Sora sighed.

"Kairi, wait!" Kairi rolled her eyes at his plead. "You're a terrible liar, you know that right?" Kairi blushed and tugged on her hair.

"Come on, Sora. I seriously am really tired," Kairi tried to convince. She looked up to his eyes. His blue orbs looked deeply into hers, trying to find an answer. Sora sighed and pinched the bridge between his nose. "I don't believe you, but I'll let you do your thing."

Kairi rolled her eyes and fled the restaurant. The café was only about a 10 minute walk from her hotel, so she didn't need to ride with Namine. Or worse, Sora.

She actually kind of did want to go to the pool with her friends, but she didn't want to be around Sora. She felt like she was falling into his trap again, but she didn't want to. Especially when he saved her from the man at the payphone. Or even when Sora bought the dress she wanted. She didn't know what to do anymore.

The warm wind tousled through her red hair as she took a deep breath. If Kairi could forget, forgive, and just leap into Sora's arms again, she would, but she wasn't that kind of person. Every always told her that Sora still loved her and that they were the perfect couple. Well if he loved her so much, why did he leave that early morning?

Kairi slid her key-card for her hotel room and fell on her bed.

"What am I going to do for the rest of the night?" Kairi said aloud to herself. She took a deep breath and thought through some ideas of what she could possibly do.

After 5 minutes of contemplating, Kairi decided to take a nice long shower. She took it to as hot as it would go without burning her, and mentally tried to wash away her worries. When she got out, she slipped into some loose short-shorts and a hot pink tank top. Kairi decided that to kill about 2 hours, she should watch a movie. She first checked her phone for any new messages, and to her surprise she found one.

**Namine: **Hey! We're heading down to your pool in about an hour or two, please come with us?

Kairi sighed at her phone. She hated having to lie to her friends. She replied.

**Kairi: **Sorry Nam, I'm actually just now heading to bed. We'll go out to lunch tomorrow, okay?

Just as she was about to charge her phone for the night, she got one more text.

**Namine: **Too bad, you're missing the view… ;) hehe

**Kari: **WOULD YOU SHUT UP.

Kairi rolled her eyes, turned off her phone, and searched for movies to buy on the hotel TV. She felt like watching something either sad or funny. If she watched something sad, she'd probably have an attitude for the rest of the night.

Sad it was.

* * *

"YOU BASTARD!" Kairi screamed at the TV, throwing all of her popcorn at it. She was watching the Notebook, just as Noah left, she started to cry. "You couldn't stick around with her? SHE LOVED YOU, YOU DOUCHEBAG!" Kairi fell into her pillow and sobbed. Okay, maybe she wasn't crying because of the characters, but because they related to her life so well.

She looked at the time and it was only 11:46, which meant that her friends were only down at the pool for a little time now, meaning they were still there.

Kairi sat there dabbing at her eyes, contemplating whether or not she should go down or not. She had a swimsuit and everything. But in her head she knew that she'd probably lose it the minute she saw her ex-boyfriend shirtless and in his swim trunks.

Kairi quickly exhaled. "Dammit, Kairi…"

Sora changed into blue swim trunks and pulled over a white t-shirt, ready to leave his room. He hadn't been swimming in a long time, so he was sort of excited about it. He just wished that Kairi would come with.

He remembered the old days when him and Kairi would spend their days in the ocean of Destiny Islands. Whenever Kairi's parents were out of town for business and Sora's mom was out partying, they would take away their troubles to the sea. Sometimes the two would sit on the palm tree with the extended trunk and just watch the sunset, or they would take a dip under the stars. It didn't matter what they were doing, as long as they were with each other, nothing even mattered.

_It was mid evening at Destiny Islands and a certain redhead headed towards her favorite spot at the sea. She walked over to the boardwalk, and closed her eyes, taking in the moment. Everything seemed to be falling into place. Plus her parents were out of town, so she didn't have to worry about going home on curfew tonight. _

_She was in her uniform; the tiny checkered blue skirt, white shirt, and blue tie. She loosened her tie, took off her shoes and socks, and ran fingers through her fiery red hair. She had a long day, and watching the sun set before her was the perfect way to end it. _

_The girl heard footsteps behind her, but she knew to not be afraid, because she already knew who her visitor was. _

_Arms started encircle around her waist, and a chin rested on her shoulder. "I knew I'd find you here," the husky voice said lightly into her ear. The girl laughed, "Oh darn, I thought I finally got away from you," She said sarcastically. _

_The boy raised his eyebrows. "Oh really? We'll just see about THAT!" The boy bent down to reach for her legs and lifted her up. _

"_Sora!" Kairi giggled. "What are you doing!" _

"_You can't get away from me now," Sora exclaimed with a crooked grin. Kairi rolled her eyes with a smile and wrapped her arms around his neck for support. _

_Sora carried Kairi to the sand, and lied her down. Kairi smirked as she made it comfortable on her back in the sand, and Sora went down with her. He propped up on his elbow, laying his head in the palm of his hand , and took a hand around Kairi's waist. "Now how was your day, Ms. Hikari?" _

_Kairi looked up at the sky, thinking. "Well, I took a Chemistry test day, and I'm not really sure how I did. You know how I am with science." Sora rolled his eyes and bent to kiss her forehead. "I bet you did fantastic. You probably did so good the teacher HAD to give you extra credit just because of how awesome you are." _

_Kairi burst into a fit of giggles and shook her head. "Doubt it. But, besides that, it was pretty good. Selphie finally bought me lunch today. I've gotten that girl at least 10 lunches in the past three months!" Sora laughed, "She's such a rip off." He pulled her closer. "What about you, Sora?" _

_He sighed. "Well… it was good for the most part. My mom texted me in the middle of the day telling me that her and her friends were going to go to the southern beach." Kairi widened her eyes, "But that's like, three hours from here. How is she getting home?" Sora sighed once again and pointed to himself._

"_I don't mind, I've done it before. But, other than that, there was a pretty hilarious moment today. At lunch today, Namine actually got jealous of Axel." Kairi's side hurt from laughing so hard, "W-why would she b-be jealous?" She attempted to ask, still laughing. Hearing her laugh made Sora join her._

"_Well, apparently Roxas and Axel had plans for the weekend doing who knows what, and when Namine asked Roxas to spend it with her instead, he said no, saying he still had plans. She stormed off, it was hilarious."_

"_Oh my gosh, that little blonde would. She's probably PMS-ing or something," Kairi giggled. Sora grinned, "Probably." _

_The two both lied down on their elbows facing the ocean. Sora grabbed a stick and started to write. _

"_Whataya writing?" Kairi asked lying her head on Sora's shoulder. Sora grinned, "You'll see." _

_Kairi could already see what it was going to say by the second word, and she blushed madly. In the sand, it read: I Love You. _

"_C-cliché." Kairi took the stick from his hand and added a word to the end of it so it read: I Love You Too. _

_Sora sighed happily, and the couple returned to their original position; his hand around her waist, his head propping up on his hand. "Kairi… you don't know how happy you make me. If I could just lay here all night and day with you, watching the sunset fall and the stars rise, I would." Kairi smiled lovingly. _

"_Same here, Sora… We can come here every night if you want." Sora lightly placed a hand over Kairi's cheek, gently caressing it with his thumb. "As long as I'm with you…" _

_Kairi's heart pounded as he leaned in forward, capturing her lips into a fiery kiss. Kairi turned on her back as Sora was half on top of her, deepening the kiss. She ran her hands through his gravity defying hair, pulling him closer. A warmth flowed inside her heart. His lips fit perfectly onto hers. _

_Sora placed his forehead to hers. "What happens now?" Kairi asked, catching her breath. _

"_We grab some blankets and pillows and sleep in the sand for the night?" _

_Kairi smiled, "Deal." _

Sora hesitantly placed his hand over Kairi's hotel room, but took it away. He knew she needed her space. He placed his hand down and walked down the hall towards the elevator. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the elevator wall. As the door opened up, he saw Roxas and Namine waiting in the lobby with a towel around each of them.

"Let's do this."

About a half hour past, and war had begun.

"SORA NO!" Sora had lifted up Namine from the concrete and ran towards the water. "I HAVEN'T TESTED THE COLDNESS, NO!" Namine was prepared, so she pinched her nose and closed her eyes tightly. "I hate yo-" She was cut off when him and her had reached under the water. Namine opened her eyes under water and saw Roxas swimming towards her, grabbing her by the waist.

"Sorry, babe, it was the only way to get you in here without waiting 2 hours," Roxas laughed. Namine pushed him away and dived under water.

"I say we have a little competition," Sora suggested towards Roxas. "And will I be kicking your ass at what today?"

Sora rolled his eyes. "First one to swim over to the other side?"

"Psh, piece of cake."

"Fine… underwater," Sora smirked. Roxas eyed him. "I don't know, Roxas. I've lived on Destiny Islands most of my life… I've got some pretty sharp lungs."

"And I've been singing most of my life, so we'll just see about that," Roxas swam over to Sora and held out his hand to shake, and Sora obliged.

"Deal."

Roxas and Sora were leaned over the edge of the pool, ready to push their bodies into the pool.

"On one end, we've got my hot hunk of boyfriend, the strong, handsome, fearless ROXAS!" Namine yelled screaming and cheering. "And Sora."

Sora glared at her, then paying his attention back to the pool. "On your mark, get set… GO!"

Roxas and Sora both lurched towards the pool, taking a huge breath of air, preparing to not breathe until the very end. Sora reached far into the water, and pushed himself as far as he could go trying to beat his rival and best friend. He opened his eyes to see that he was far ahead of Roxas; in fact, he couldn't even see him. Sora smirked under the water and with one more stride, he reached the end.

The brunette took a huge breath coming up from the water, and cheered. "WHOO! YES! Who beat your ass?" He faced Roxas who was standing in the water looking at the distance. Sora was confused as to what he was looking at, and he followed his gaze.

Kairi stood at the door, with her arms folded, a towel over her shoulder, and a bright red two piece bikini on her body.

"K-Kai! You came!" Sora smiled brightly. He climbed the stairs to the concrete and faced her.

Kairi's face matched her hair as he walked towards her. His perfectly toned body was shown before her. "Y-yeah, I did. I couldn't stand being in that hotel room."

"I thought you were tired." Sora crossed his arms, grinning. Kairi's eyes widened. "Um… I had coffee."

"Then you'll have the energy to play some chicken with your friends. Do you still have the skill?" Sora asked trying to be serious. Kairi scoffed and threw her towel towards the chairs. "Hell yeah, I do."

"Alright, boys versus girls. Let the games begin." Kairi and Sora went under water as Roxas and Namine went on top of their shoulders, lifting them up.

"Oh hey, Nam, haven't seen you in a while," Roxas said sarcastically reaching for her hands to wrestle.

"Roxas! Long time no see! Did you hear about Axel and I?" Roxas' eyes widened at her joke and lost track of what she was doing. Namine reached for his chest and pushed him into the water.

"DAMMIT!" Sora yelled before hitting the water with his blond companion.

"YES! Just kidding, Roxas. Love you!" Namine smiled sweetly. "That means girls have one, and guys ZIP!" Kairi yelled.

"Alright, alright, switching teams."

Sora and Kairi were lifted on Roxas and Namine's shoulders and finally faced each other. "So we meet, Sora."

"Indeed we do." When Sora reached for her hands, Kairi blushed, and grabbed them. Kairi made sure to make no eye contact with his perfect chest, and only into his intense eyes.

"Namine walk forward!" Namine obliged, and Kairi managed to push Sora a little bit. "Shit!" Roxas cursed, keeping his balance. Him and Namine at the same time walked forward, and the force into Sora and Kairi's hands were so strong that they both seemed to have slipped. The two had a look of panic on their faces as they both lurched toward the water, reaching a tie in the game.

Kairi held her breath as she fell into the water, letting the water hit her back. Kairi swam forward not looking to wear she was swimming, and the same with Sora. As the two swam forward, they didn't notice that they were swimming towards each other.

As they both opened their eyes it was too late.

The redhead and the brunettes lips already touched for a brief moment. Kairi's heart stopped as they both didn't pull away. All of the memories clutched her heart. Sora's eyes shot open, and his heart started to hammer against his ribcage. All of the times at the ocean, all of the vacations, all of the hand-holding and sweet kisses were back into their minds, and were bolted there to stay. Sora swam backwards and up towards the water. Kairi swam the opposite way towards the stairs.

Sora breathed once he reached the top, covering his mouth. Panicking, he faced towards Kairi and saw her climbing the stairs. Kairi's face was a deep red and she had tears in her eyes, the chlorine burning them even more. "Kairi, wait!"

She didn't respond to his call for her as she reached for her towel. Sora went to the closest edge of the pool and hoisted himself up to the concrete. As Kairi reached for the door, Sora already shut it closed and turned her towards him. "Kairi, I didn't-"

Pain struck Sora's cheek as Kairi smacked him, and she ran in the lobby towards the elevator.

"Sora, what the hell did you do?" Roxas yelled. "I-I accidentally kissed her! I swear it was an accident!" Sora panicked.

"WELL GO GET HER!" Roxas and Namine yelled at the same time. Sora nodded and ran out the door. Once he reached the elevator, it had already come to a close and he had no way of catching up to her.

He looked all around the room and finally found the 'Stairs' sign and grabbed the door, running up the stairs. Thankfully, they were only on the 3rd floor so he only had to climb a few flights. Also, he was very fit, so that was an extra perk. He was taking two steps at a time and clutching the railing for an extra boost. Sora almost slipped a couple of times from his wet feet, but he ignored it and kept running.

Sora lurched himself down the hallway and caught up to Kairi passing the first room to the right. "KAIRI!" Sora yelled. "Leave me alone, Sora!"

"Kairi, come on! Let me explain!" Sora managed to catch up with Kairi and grabbed her hand. She had a hand over her mouth and her whole body was still soaked with water. "K-Kairi I didn't do that on purpose I didn't open my eyes yet when I ran into you!" Sora placed both hands on the side of her head, looking into her eyes. "I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't do that on purpose, Kai."

Kairi still had tears in her eyes. Kairi shook her head and faced the floor. "I-it's not your fault… I-I'm overreacting."

"No, you're not. That shouldn't have happened, I'm sor-"

"No, Sora, you're fine." Kairi reached for his hands and removed them from her face. "I-I'm gonna head inside. Tell Roxas and Namine I had fun…" She reached for the door and closed it as soon as she got the chance, not taking a second look at the brunette.

Kairi slowly slid down the door, crying. She propped her knees up and cried into them. Just a tiny kiss brought the years back to her, and her heart went back to breaking, even if it was almost healed from before. All of her old feelings towards Sora sparked again, but she tried to push them back. Kairi always knew how to calm her feelings. She was always the one who kept it together and became a soldier. At the same time though, it was her time to break down. "B-but h-he left m-me… I shouldn't d-do this…"

Sora's heart wrenched at the sound of Kairi's sobs on the other side of the door.

* * *

**Hey guys! Long weekend, so I thought I would update the story! I have Monday off (Thank the Lord) but I still have a crapload of Chemistry homework to do. SIGH. My hatred for that class just... I don't even know. Also, if you haven't yet, I posted a oneshot of our favorite blonde pairing, so read that if you would like! People keep telling me that I should have made it into a chapter story. I probably should have... that would have been really fun. But after On That Road Again, you never know... ;) **

**Thanks again for the reviews! I love getting emails on my phone in the middle of the day saying I got new ones haha. It's a good feeling! Keep them coming! :) I'll update as soon as I can, and enjoy the rest of your guys' weekend!  
**


	12. Yellow Eyes and Dark Caves

Kairi slowly opened her burning eyes, the sun creeping in where her arms met her knees. She rose her head from her knees and a pain stroked her neck. Kairi squeezed her eyes shut in pain and slowly released her arms from the lock they held around her knees. It was blatant that it was a bad idea to fall asleep that way.

As she rose to her feet, her knees gave in as she fell. "Shit, Kairi," she said to herself, rising to her feet once again. She walked into the bathroom and gaped at her appearance in the mirror. Kairi's eyes were red, her hair was a mess from the chlorine from the pool, and she was still in her bathing suit. Kairi ran hot water under the sink and splashed it on her face; clearing all of the dry tears off of her cheeks.

Kairi walked over to her drawer and stared in disbelief. The only thing clean was the dress that Sora bought her from the day before. Sighing, Kairi slipped on undergarments and the dress, looking in the mirror. Guilt drowned her in the dress and she frowned. She felt like she couldn't even wear it because of the event that occurred last night. Her cheeks flared as she remembered Sora's lips on hers, and her heart ached.

Reminiscing, Kairi twisted her hair into a bun and clipped it tight. She didn't even care what she looked like.

A headache pounded her forehead and Kairi groaned in pain. As she walked to the mini kitchen, she noticed that all of the coffee packets were gone. "Seriously?" Kairi said to herself. She would have to result to getting more in the lobby. Sighing, Kairi went over to her hotel door and pulled it open. What she saw on the other side made her freeze on the spot.

Looking godly uncomfortable, Sora, still in his swim trunks, was lying on the ground outside her door. He used his arms as his pillow and his legs were crawled up against his chest. Kairi's heart ached in more pain at the site. _He slept there the whole night? _

Kairi stepped over the brunette and bent down. Sora's mouth was slightly open and his breathing was steady and slow. His hair was tasseled in every direction, if that was even possible. Kairi slightly smiled at him, a single tear running down her face. Her eyes widened when she saw dry tears stained on his cheeks. She immediately felt guilty.

Making it to wear her dress was covering her legs, she sat down to her ex, carefully lifting his head and setting it down on her lap. She lied her hand on his shoulder, and her other was gently fixing his hair. "Why must you go to such drastic levels, Sora?" Kairi asked him, even though she knew he was asleep. "I-I'm so sorry, Sora. I-I've been such a nuisance this week so far." At this point, her voice turned into a whisper. "T-the truth is my feelings towards you are so jumbled. I… hate that I love you. I miss you being my best friend. We'd always laugh at the same things… I would tell you my bad days and you'd actually care."

She sniffled. "Don't get me wrong, Namine is a great friend, but… I miss you." Kairi laughed, "Remember those times where everyone would go to the parties at the beach and we'd stay home and eat loads of ice cream and watch sappy movies together; making fun of the acting?" Like she expected, no response. "Well… I remember. Oh!" Kairi suddenly remembered another event, laughing, but crying at the same time. "And then you and I sang at that karaoke place and we beat Roxas and he got really pissed because he says he has the singing voice of Jesse McCartney. (**AN: **Heh.)"

Kairi wiped a tear away from her face just in time so it wouldn't fall on Sora's cheek. "God, Sora… why do you do this to me…" she gave his shoulder a squeeze and rested her head against the wall, closing her eyes in thought.

Sora suddenly inhaled sharply and slightly moved his head. Kairi knew he was in the process of waking up because he would always do this when he took naps. She stiffened as she felt him move, not knowing what to do. Sora shot up quickly his eyes barely open. "Wh… where am I?"

Sora turned around to see a stiff Kairi with no eye contact. "Kairi?" She nodded.

"You, um… fell asleep outside my room. I'm sure that was on accident. You know, with all the… tiredness." Kairi didn't even know what she was saying anymore.

"It wasn't an accident. I… couldn't leave you." Sora mussed his hair. Kairi blushed as his toned back was to her, still shirtless.

"You, uh… have some dirt on your back." Sora flushed, "I do? Where?"

Kairi's face reddened more. "L-let me get it for you." Kairi shakily reached towards his back, and rubbed off the patch of dirt along his shoulder blade. There were a few noticeable freckles on his back, and Kairi inwardly giggled. "Th-there. It's gone."

Sora sighed, and moved so he had his back against the wall like Kairi. "Thanks," Sora said with a laugh. Kairi nodded, looking straight ahead, playing with the hem of her dress. "Look, Kairi, I'm still so sor-"

"Let's hang out today."

Sora froze. His mouth went dry, and his heartbeat quickened. He came back to reality after what seemed like an eternity. "I beg your pardon?"

_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? _"All we do is fight, Sora. I want one day to the two of us."

Sora's mouth quivered as he burst into laughter. Flames showed in Kairi's eyes as the anger built. "Y-you're joking, r-right?" Sora covered his face in his hands and continued to laugh. Kairi shoved his body over and stood up.

"No, I'm not, actually," Kairi stated, brushing off any rocks or dust on her new dress. "I'll just go get coffee-"

"Kairi, wait!" Sora yelped, still holding back a laugh. He grabbed her hand and lifted himself up. "I'm just kidding, let's go get coffee." Kairi crossed her arms and huffed. "But first, let me change into a clean shirt and not just walk in the lobby shirtless." Sora draped his arm around Kairi's shoulders. "We don't want people to wonder…" Sora said giving Kairi a shifty-eyed look.

Kairi gaped and shoved him against the railing, moaning in annoyance.

Sora stifled a laugh. "You're still the same."

When Sora finally put on a new shirt and Kairi managed to make her hair presentable, they met up at the elevator of the hotel. Sora gave her a look and pressed the elevator button, the doors automatically opening. They both stood there awkwardly. "After you, your majesty," Sora offered, motioning his hand towards the door. Kairi rolled her eyes and walked in the elevator, Sora following suit.

Before the doors could close, someone caught the elevator and walked inside, pressing the button to the second to highest floor. Kairi widened her eyes. _What the hell is he going up there for when he's on level third floor? _She rolled her eyes for the second time, annoyed at the wait.

The man in front of them had on a black suit, hair gelled back. He was holding a suitcase firmly in front of him with both hands, and he didn't move an inch.

Kairi looked over at Sora, who was grinning, obviously trying to not laugh. Sora propped his hands in front of him just like the man and made his back straight and proper. He stuck his nose high in the air. Kairi looked over at Sora once again, and burst into a fit of silent giggles.

The man looked behind him to Kairi with a confused look; almost offended. Kairi immediately stopped laughing and looked at Sora. The man then looked over at Sora. Sora stopped his fake pose and went back to a slumped back and his hands on the railing. He pointed to Kairi and made the she's-crazy gesture and rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry about her, I try."

Kairi shoved him into the wall after that comment.

They finally reached the second to highest floor and the man walked out. As soon as the doors closed, the redhead and brunette burst into laughter. "You're so immature, Sora," Kairi claimed still laughing.

Sora threw his hands up in defense. "Hey, I like to have fun once in a while."

An awkward silence furnished the air, and the two teens stood at each end of the elevator.

Kairi looked around the elevator, trying to find something to talk about. _This is so awkward, I don't even know what came to me when I asked him to hang out today. What am I doing? _

_Is she taking me to hell? _Sora looked towards Kairi slightly, and she shot her head forward when he caught her staring. The brunette smirked and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Kairi sighed of relief when the elevators beeped for their destination floor. "So, um… What exactly are we doing today, Kai?" Sora asked ruffling his hair.

_Shit. _"Well… what time is it?"

"Um… 7:30.… Damn, we woke up early. Well, we could go for breakfast?" Sora suggested making no eye contact. Kairi nodded. "You know what, I know a great place."

"Oh really?" Kairi asked. "How many times have you been to Traverse in YOUR life, Sora?"

"Hey, I didn't always live on Destiny Islands. My mom and I would take vacations here." Sora laughed, "I remember this one time my mom had a massive hangover and she desperately needed coffee and she took me to this one place. Let me take you," Sora said holding out his hand. Kairi was hesitant at first, but then she took it. "Trust me."

"Oh my gosh, this place is awesome." Kairi stepped on the last step of the staircase on top of the staircase and they both entered the rooftop of the restaurant. She expected it to be grimy with mold everywhere, but it was actually perfectly clean. There were two tables, good as new, and an umbrella hanging over the top of each table. In each corner of the roof there were flowers, complimenting the sunrise.

"I know. I could never forget this place." Sora closed his eyes, taking in the moment. "You okay?" Kairi asked. Sora grinned, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just.. Some parts of my childhood were worth remembering, but this one kind of makes me sad remembering it, is all." Kairi gave him a sad smile.

She tried to change the subject. "Well… where do we order our food?"

"Well… that's where the surprise of this restaurant comes in."

Sora led Kairi down a long hallway up until they came to two double doors. He swung them open and it revealed a gourmet kitchen. Everything was stainless steal and she was afraid to even look at it. "Are you confused, Kairi?" Kairi's eyebrow furrowed and she nodded. "Well… we get to cook."

Kairi gaped and shoved Sora against the stainless table, leaving him stumbling. "GET OUT! Oh my god this is going to be fun. Wait, what's there to make? I only know how to make eggs with the exception of toas-"

"KAIRI." The redhead stomped rambling. "I'll do the cooking, you can just… observe." Sora sent her a wink, and Kairi glared.

Kairi waited by the stove, taking in the scenery. Beside the stove, there was an old fashion chef's island; pans hanging down the top. The refrigerator was huge. It had one large and wide stainless steal door, and two more smaller ones near the bottom. The were spotlights hanging down on each station of the kitchen so it would only focus on one part, instead of the whole room.

Sora appeared around the corner with a bundle of stuff in his hands. "Alright… I got some red and green peppers, eggs, crepe wraps, cream, strawberries, and… I think this is a tomato." Kairi laughed, "You're mixing those all together?"

"Ew, what the hell, Kairi? No. Pick." Kairi overlooked the ingredients one more time and made up her mind.

"Crepes."

Sora smirked. "My specialty."

As Sora started to chop the strawberries, he left Kairi wisking the cream cheese. He didn't want her near anything sharp. He started to hum a tune, and Kairi smiled to herself.

"So… what are the memories you like to remember? That make you happy, that is." Kairi asked watching Sora work his magic.

"Well… the boat rides on the island. Making the raft which was a total fail. God, Kairi, you know how much shit I went through to get those damn items?" Kairi burst into laughter, remembering the moment. Sora continued, "the cave that had all of the drawings, and-"

"Sora, all of those memories involve-"

"You. I know." Sora confirmed, finishing up the last strawberry. "You gave me a great childhood, Kairi. And I don't know what I would do without you during middle school and high school… Or now."

Kairi blinked and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him towards her. She looked at him with a blank expression. Sora breathed in shakily, leaning in forward. The next thing he knew, whipped cream cheese was against his cheek.

"Don't be so sad all the time." Kairi grinned, licking her fingers from the cream cheese on her fingers. Sora laughed taking it as a challenge. He grabbed an uncut strawberry and pretended to dribble it around.

"He goes to the left, he goes to the right, twirls and…!" Sora lifted his hands and aimed the strawberry down Kairi's shirt into her chest area. "HE SCORES! And the crowd goes wild! Thank you all." Sora cheered himself on.

Kairi's mouth dropped and her eyes were showing death.

Then she charged forward.

Sora's eyes widened, but with his reflexes, he bent down and gracefully lifted her on his shoulder. "PUT ME DOWN!" Sora ignored her plead and headed up the stairs to the roof. Kairi pounded her fists on Sora's toned back, but he didn't budge at all.

When they reached the top of the roof, Sora carefully placed Kairi on a chair at one of the tables. "Stay." Sora smiled and went back down the stairs.

Kairi huffed and crossed her arms like a 4 year-old. "I'm not a dog."

Kairi reminisced on what Sora said earlier about her lightening up his childhood, but she didn't really understand why. She was a normal 7 year old when she met him.

But Sora had a different argument to that.

_A young boy with large, brunette hair sat in a dark cave with open space, chalk in hand. He was drawing a door that reached his height with a giant keyhole on the front. The boy sighed, "It'll take me to a better place…"_

"_Well where would you like to go?" A voice appeared behind him. The boy gasped and turned around quickly to see a petite girl with fiery red hair shoulder length and a white dress. _

"_How long have you been standing there?" The boy said standing up, putting his hands on his hips. _

"_Since you started your little drawing in here. I followed you 'cause you looked funny," Kairi covered her mouth to hide her giggles. "But you're cute, too!"_

_The cocky little boy added, "It's my hair, I know." The little girl giggled more at his comment. "I'm Sora, by the way!" Sora extended his hand to the petite girl. _

"_I'm Kairi! I'm new here." _

"_This is the PERFECT place to move!"_

"_Well my dad is sort of the mayor-person-thingy now…" Kairi said looking at her shoes. Sora jumped._

"_That is so cool! He's like the president!" Sora opinionated. _

"_That's what I said!" Kairi squeeled. She looked over at the wall. "What're you drawing, Sora?" _

_The small boy blushed. "Oh… nothing. Would you like to draw something, Kai?" Kairi's head shot up._

"_A nickname now? Don't best friends only do that kind of stuff?" Kairi asked. Sora walked up to her and extended his hand._

"_Well… you'll be my friend, Kairi." Kairi nodded and walked with Sora over to his drawing. _

_Kairi grabbed a small piece of chalk and admired Sora's features for a couple of seconds until she started to glide her hand across the caves wall. _

_Sora immediately recognized a spike and smiled. "Hey, that's me!" Sora exclaimed. Kairi made a toothy smile and nodded. She looked over to Sora's drawing and had the same reaction._

"_And that's me! Wait… does my hair really look like that?" Kairi asked, fiddling with different streaks in her hair. _

"_Well… no. But I'm trying my best!" Sora said confidently. Kairi giggled and continued to draw. She felt a comfort that she's never felt when she was around this boy she just met; like she could be herself and she didn't have to be shy._

_And Sora felt the same; feelings blooming for years to come. _

"Here are your crepes, Ms. Hikari!" Sora started Kairi as he put the plate in front of Kairi and took a seat next to her. The plate looked like a masterpiece. The only thing that was missing was-

"And your chocolate milk." Never mind, then.

"Thanks…" Kairi took her fork and bit into the first bite of her crepe. Moaning, she closed her eyes. "Why aren't you a chef, oh my god." Sora laughed.

"If it makes you happy, it can be my back-up plan." Kairi grinned and nodded.

"Sora?" He looked up to the redhead as he wiped off whip cream from the corner of his mouth. "Can I ask you a question?" Sora nodded. "Earlier you said that there were some childhood memories that you would rather not remember… What were those?"

Sora raised his eyebrows. "I'm surprised you care…" Kairi's heart clenched. She started to feel bad about how she treated him throughout the whole trip. Even though she was so angry at him, she should have respected him and whatever happened in his past. Kairi started to speak, but Sora stopped her. "It's okay… but, um… when my dad left us, I barely remembered that time era, but I know my mom went through a hard time.

"She tried to hide all of her hurt feelings when I was around, but I would remember her crying in her room and stuff." He took a deep breath. "We were going grocery shopping and my mom met this really nice guy in like, the vegetable section or some cliché scene like that." Kairi slightly giggled; Sora always tried to add humor to a serious topic. "From what I remember, he was a nice guy shown. He probably wore a suit or something. But my mom got me a babysitter that night because she told me that this man was going to take her out for a drink.

"I was happy that she was finally happy, so I didn't really worry about anything that night. Plus, I was like, 6, so I didn't really have any worries, you know?" Kairi nodded as he continued, "Well I was in my room playing with that really old cartoon plushie that was around that era. I think it was a heartless or something? Damn, I miss that thing. My mom threw it away after that… anyway, my babysitter screamed when she heard the door open and I ran into the living room to find my mom sobbing and screaming.

"I'm glad I don't remember _exactly _the way she looked, but she had a bunch of red marks on her and a bruise on her cheek. When I got older she thought I was 'mature enough' to know what happened and she had told me that he took her to this back alley and beat her up because she wouldn't stay for an extra hour for drinks because of me. I just feel like it's been my fault ever since so that's why I'm always calling her to see if she's okay and stuff. After that, her new love was drinking, and I can't really change that."

The crepes did not matter to Kairi anymore as tears flowed down her cheeks. Sora was down at his plate so when he heard her silent cry, he immediately looked up with wide eyes. "What's-"

"W-why didn't you ever tell me this, Sora?"

Sora opened his mouth to speak, but he was at loss for words. "I… I don't know, actually. I couldn't tell anyone, and it wasn't anyone's business to tell. Well, except for you. Don't feel bad or anything, it was the time to finally let it out." In the next moment, Kairi had her arms wrapped tightly around Sora's neck as he sat on his stool. He hesitated at first, but then he slowly placed his arms around Kairi's waist.

Kairi's tears fell on the back of Sora's shirt. "I-I'm so sorry, Sora. Y-your mom is such a great person. She-she didn't deserve that. And you didn't d-deserve to see that. I-"

Sora slightly laughed, "Kairi, calm down. It was a long time ago." Kairi turned away but kept her hands on his shoulders, and Sora's hands still on her waist.

"But… your mom _changed _because of it." Sora frowned, "I know, Kairi… Well, it was worse about a month after that, but you could say she's somewhat improved." Kairi sat at her seat and rested her forehead on the palm of her hand.

"Would you like to hear a _nice_ memory that involves my mom?" Sora asked hopefully. Kairi turned towards him and smiled sadly. Sora nodded and scooted his stool closer to Kairi. "So, you see that ledge over there? It has the orchid right next to it?" Kairi nodded. "Every single time my mom and I would come here, she would raise me up on the ledge and tightly wrap her arms around me. She would always say that one day I would fly and go far away from here. That I would find a door that leads to a better place. We would come here every summer, but… we haven't gone here since I was like, thirteen. I sorta miss it. But! Don't be sad, I still have a good memory."

Kairi smiled, "When we go home to Destiny Islands, we have to grab your mom and take her here. I think we'd have a good time; the three of us. Plus your mom loves me, so I don't think she'd mind." Sora laughed and nodded. Kairi stood up and walked over to the ledge, taking in the fresh air. "It's a pretty town."

Sora got up and walked over to her, resting his elbows on the ledge. "It really is." Kairi looked over to Sora to see him staring at her.

Kairi smiled widly, "I have an idea."

After two hours of searching, Kairi finally came across an imports store. "GOD! Finally! This friggin' town was bound to have one."

"Kairi, I'm going to throw a fit. It's been like, ten hours where the hell are you taking me?" Sora asked looking around the store. He had never been to an imports store, so he didn't even know what they selled.

"Would you calm down for like, five seconds, Sora. And it hasn't been ten, it's only been two. Now… sit… in the corner or something." Sora gave her a look, gave her the hand and walked away. Kairi rolled her eyes and walked over to the front counter.

Sora noticed that the back counter were filled with plushies from different anime's and games. He ignored it and looked around him. He found himself looking at a shelf full of snow globes of different places. The one displayed in front was of the town itself, Traverse Town. But behind it, Sora immediately recognized the large palm tree, the electric blue ocean, and the large, black cave He picked it up and examined the detail. The clouds sparkled with the glitter. Sora shook the globe and the water danced all around.

"Sora?" The boy put the snow globe down and turned towards Kairi. "So, during your little story, I caught something that you said, and I immediately had to buy it for you." Sora furrowed his eyebrow confused.

From behind, Kairi pulled out the same Heartless plushie from his childhood. The crazy antlers and bright yellow eyes and all. Sora's eyes widened slightly, and he slowly raised his hands to the plushie. Sora held it up to him, staring into the blank eyes. Flashes of different childhood memories hit him in the heart and his eyes stung. He blinked, making sure no tears fell.

"Thank you… Kairi." Sora said, finally making eye contact. The look in her eyes brought him back to the time when they were still friends. _Are we friends now…?_

"You're welcome. Just make sure Roxas doesn't catch you sleeping with it at night; he'll never let you live it down." Sora chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"You know what? Stand outside real quick, just one second."

"But-" Kairi was interrupted as Sora lightly shoved her out of the store, "Just hold on!" Sora pleaded walking back into the store.

Sora walked back over to the snow globe section and picked up the Destiny Islands version. On his way to the front counter, he smiled to himself. _She'll love it._

"Is this all for you today, sir?" A short blonde asked behind the cash register. Sora nodded and slipped her a twenty dollar bill. "You know… she cares about you."

Sora's head shot up. "W-what do you mean?" The girl smiled, "She made me go in the back just to find that heartless and told me that it was an old childhood toy and stuff." Sora half grinned and took the snow globe. "Are you two together?"

Sora blinked. "Not quite."

Kairi turned towards the store and saw Sora walking towards her. "Okay what were you doing in there?"

"Oh I just had to flirt with that sexy blonde behind the counter. I mean, that rack was amazing and I'm not just talking about the plushie ra-"

"Sora."

"Okay, okay, just kidding. Here…" Sora reached his hands up and had the snow globe cupped in them. Kairi's mouth shot open and she grabbed immediately shaking it like crazy. Her eyes sparkled as the water once again danced all around the ocean.

"I've always wanted one of these! Especially of the island! Oh my god it even has the cave. This is amazing." She shook it one more time and Sora laughed again. Kairi gave him an awkward one armed hug and looked up to him. "Thank you." She looked up to his eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sora looked down at his heartless. "No reason."

After a long day, it hung over just about 6 o'clock in the evening and Sora and Kairi found themselves in front of the large water fountain near the towns entry doors.

"What a day…" Sora exclaimed yawning. Kairi nodded, reaching into her pocket. Sora tilted his head, "Um, what are you doing?"

"This." Kairi reached out a penny from her pocket and balanced it on her thumb. "They say this fountain is good for wishes… Why not give it a whirl?"

Sora watched Kairi slowly close her eyes and she clutched the penny to her chest. She slightly moved her lips, talking to herself in her mind. Finally, she flipped the coin, watching it float to the bottom slowly.

"Would you like a penny?" Kairi asked.

"Um… no. I don't really believe in superstitious stuff," Sora claimed stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Well, then… we flee to the hotel!" Kairi yelled, pointing in the wrong direction. Sora walked over and moved her hand more west until she had the direction accurate. Kairi blushed and started walking. When she wasn't looking, Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out a penny.

"I just want her to love me again."

Sora and Kairi were walking down the hall of the hotel when Sora broke the silence.

"Thanks for… letting me hang out with you today, Kairi. I had fun. Really." Kairi half smiled.

"No problem… I just felt like we need a day without choking each other, you know?"

"Maybe it could happen more often…" Sora said hopefully.

"Maybe…"

The two reached Kairi's door, but Sora stopped her. "Okay, Kairi. Let's get something straight because without an answer I'm going to go crazy, alright?" Kairi nodded, but looked a little worried. "What are we?"

"What-"

"What are we, Kairi? Are we friends now? Or are you just… slowly letting me back into your life finally, but then you're just going to go back to hating me when we go back to school? Huh?" Kairi was at loss for words. "I missed days like these, Kai-"

Sora stopped when Kairi put her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. "What are-"

"Just shut up for two minutes, Sora," Kairi demanded. Sora smirked and put his arms around her. He breathed in and that same smell of strawberries surrounded them.

"_WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME ANYMORE?"_

Sora suddenly flinched, a flash of his past striking him. _What the hell?_

They stood there holding each other for a good two minutes, until Kairi let go, leaving Sora feeling empty and distracted by the memory.

"I'll… make sure to put this at the bedside," Kairi referred to the snow globe. Sora smiled.

"And I'll make sure to wrap this in my arms and make sure the bed bugs don't bite." Kairi lightly shoved him and opened her door.

"Give your mom a call, alright Sora?" He nodded and gave her a small salute. "Goodnight…"

"Goodnight, Kairi."

Sora fell backwards on his bed as he dialed his mothers cell phone number, waiting patiently for her to pick up.

"Sora?"

To his surprise, there was no music, and she didn't sound like she was drunk. "Oh, hey mom. What's up?"

"Just cleaning the house. It's been a mess since the last time you called me." Sora grinned; the house was never clean.

"No party tonight?" Sora asked.

"Actually, no. I took a night off." Sora smiled. "How has your day been?"

He took a minute to find the right word. "Eventfully amazing. I took Kairi to that deck spot in Traverse Town. She actually suggested the three of us go over there sometime."

"I would love that! She is such a doll."

"Yeah… she is."

* * *

**... HEY GUYS. Another long wait. I'm so sorry... The week was just... horrible. And the last time I updated, about 2 weeks later it was finals. So I had to do a bunch of studying and it was horrible. Didn't get the best grade in Chemistry... :/ But that's okay. I'm keeping my head up. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. You dig a little deeper into Sora's past. Maybe we'll get to Kairi's soon? Anyway, I think this story might be coming to an end in a couple of chapters, so enjoy it while you can haha.  
I'll update as soon as I can. Thank you all for the reviews!**


	13. Rolling and Bowling

**Sora's POV:**

_God, this tie was impossible to put on. Why couldn't she just let me get a clip on? Well, it IS a wedding, so I guess I have to be fancy. Plus it's my wedding so that just gives me all the reason. _

_What was weird was I think the thing I'm most excited about is to see Kairi in her dress. She's the most beautiful girl I have ever met and just the fact that she would be ten times more beautiful, I just couldn't imagine it, you know? How can perfection go past perfection? But of course, the other thing that made my heart flutter was that I would be spending the rest of my life with her. _

"_Places!" Yelled a neoshadow running down the-Wait, what? WHAT?A heartless at my wedding? What the hell is this?Wait, places._

_I'm getting married in like two minutes. Oh my god, let's do this._

_I tightened my tie, brush my shoulders, and fixed my hair. Okay, there's not really a way to fix my hair, but whatever. _

_I walked to the double doors where they would open to reveal the groom, but as I was nearing the hallway to go to them, I saw someone who I haven't seen since probably… Junior year of high school? Wow. Riku's changed a lot. I inwardly laughed; I've never seen him in a suit. Wait… why was he here? I haven't seen him in forever so I didn't think to invite him. Maybe Kairi did?_

_But as the Riku opened the double doors, the music started to play. Hey, that was my cue not yours! What is going on?_

_I rushed to the doors and tried to contact Riku, but I couldn't get past them. It was like some shield was holding me away from the chapel. Riku stood at the spot where the groom would stand, and that's where I started to panic. _

_Looking around, I tried to find help, but something caught my eye. A crimson red was what it was, actually. _

_It hurt my heart to see how beautiful she was. Her shoulder-length hair lay in perfect curls just about her chest. The long sleeves on her dress were in lace and the neck of the top was in a heart shaped form. The top layer of the dress was lace also, but underneath was silk. My heart was pounding against my ribcage. _

"_Kairi…" That was weird, nothing was coming out of my mouth. But as I tried to yell, nothing else would come out. _

_It disgusted me; Riku was looking at her with this look of love and happiness. That was suppose to be me. I'm so confused… _

_They started to exchange vows. Why was everything going so quickly? I tried to kick down the walls, but they wouldn't budge. As they put on the rings, tears started to swell in my eyes. I felt like someone was taking everything good in my life and throwing it away. _

"_Please Kairi, please don't do this… I need you…" I sobbed. "KAIRI PLEASE!"_

_Suddenly, all in one swift movement, everyone in the chapel turn their heads towards me, including the bride and groom. _

"_Why shouldn't I, Sora? You don't love me anymore. Remember, Sora? REMEMBER?" She screeched. _

Sora bolted up from his bed in sweat. "Oh my god… it was just a dream…" He ran a hand through his hair and released a long sigh. He looked down to the clock and saw that it was 3:34 AM. "Ngh… too early."

But as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was wide awake. The dream kept haunting his mind. He couldn't get that scream from Kairi out of his head. Frustrated, he tried to come up with something else to do to occupy the early hours of the morning…

Swimming.

As the elevator doors opened, Sora swung his towel over his shoulder and took of his shirt. It was three in the morning, no one would see him. _I mean, look at this bod, _Sora thought to himself jokingly. But first, he decided to grab a cup of coffee near the front desk. He needed something to give him an extra kick before diving in.

Sora grabbed a Styrofoam cup and let the coffee slowly pour into the cup from the automatic coffee filler. Waiting, Sora looked around the lobby. He caught eyes with the girl at the front desk, eyeing his body. Sora admitted to himself that she was attractive, but only Kairi fell into the category of "girl of his dreams." He smirked at her, but returned to his coffee.

He went to reach for the sugar, but there were no packets. He sighed as he realized he would have to face the girl. As he walked over, he noticed that her face started to turn red.

"Um, hello…" he looked at her nametag, "Violet. Do you know where any sugar packets are?"

The girl leaned into the desk and placed the palm of her hand under chin, battering her eyes. "Are you sure you aren't looking for something else?"Sora gaped. "Are you sure you aren't desperate?" Violet shot him a glare, went under her desk, and threw him 3 sugar packets. "Thank you, ma'am, that's all I wanted."

He swear he heard 'asshole' slip from her lips.

Sora took his cup of coffee and headed towards the pool. The smell of fresh chlorine filled his nose and the place was completely empty. Just the way he liked it. Whenever there was a pool around, he would take the opportunity. It reminded him of the days of Destiny Islands.

Taking a gulp of coffee, he set it down, and was in ready position for a dive. He took a deep breath and dove into the water. The water was at perfect temperature. He swam all the way to the opposite side of the pool and took a big breath when coming back up. He didn't know why, but swimming helped him clear his head. Like when he contemplated on whether or not he should ask out Kairi for the first time. Then the name came to him.

Kairi.

The previous day flooded back to him and he sighed contently. _The day went almost too perfectly… _He thought. Sora forced himself to float on his back and stare the ceiling.

_Do I confess my undying love to her? Do I let her make the first move? If I confess, what if she gets mad at me? That's all I need, another year of Kairi-_

His thoughts were interrupted when a beach ball slammed into his face. His face went under the water, but he swore he saw a glimpse of spiky blonde hair.

"Sorry, my hand slipped," Roxas said grinning. Sora finally got all of the water out f his nose when he yelled, "YEAH LET'S GO WITH THAT!"Roxas chuckled. "So you obviously have a lot on your mind." He sat down on the edge of the pool, letting his legs touch the water.

"How would you know that?" Sora asked taking a seat next to him, running a hand through his wild hair.

"Sora, we've known each other for forever. You're swimming at 4 in the morning. I think something's wrong," Roxas stated. "What's up?"

Sora took a deep breath. "Today… was _odd,_ man," he said half laughing. Roxas motioned to him to continue. "After that kiss, I ran to her room and she would not talk to me and I felt so bad. I felt like I invaded her privacy or something. I fell asleep outside of her room and the next thing I know she's asking me to hang out with her all day."

"You two hung out yesterday? And you _didn't _fight?" Roxas asked surprised.

"Not really. And then I made her breakfast at the restaurant down the block from here and I confessed a lot to her about my past. I felt like we were going out again…" Sora said looking at his hands. He couldn't believe he was getting so upset from a perfect day. "I love her so much, you know?"

"We all know, Sora. Well, maybe after the trip Kairi will take some time to think about things and come back to you?" Roxas asked hopefully.

"That's the thing, Roxas. I asked her last night what was going to happen after this trip and all she did was hug me. She just told me to 'live in the moment'. Well, that's kinda hard when all you do is think about the future… I want what you and Namine have." He sighed, "I _had_ what you and Namine have."

Roxas smiled, "We _are _pretty great." Sora rolled his eyes and grinned.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Hey assholes, an aerobics class is going to be in here soon, so I suggest taking your asses back up to assholeville in your rooms," the girl from before at the desk yelled and left.

Sora turned to Roxas, "You pissed her off, too?" Roxas started to laugh.

"All I said was I have a girlfriend, and then she assumed she was my girlfriend, and then I just kinda left her." Sora burst out laughing. Roxas yawned, "Glad I amuse you."

"Why are you up at this hour anyway, Roxas?"

"Oh my god Namine was all over me. One minute she's getting hot and heavy with me, and then the next she's all, 'Well, goodnight.'" Roxas mocked Namine's voice.

Sora cocked his head, "Sooo you came over to take out your sexual frustration on me?"

Roxas then shoved Sora back into the pool, rolling his eyes.

Kairi awoke to a knock on her door. "Go… away…" She said tiredly, letting her eyelids slip again. The door knocked again. She groaned loudly while grabbing her blanket and wrapping it around herself. Before the person could get to a third knock, Kairi threw the door open to find a pair of cerulean eyes staring into hers.

"Am… I interrupting something?" Sora asked laughing. Kairi wiped off the excess drool off of her face and widened her eyes.

"Um… no. What do you want?" Kairi asked irritated.

_Still the same old Kairi, _Sora thought. "Uh, I brought you breakfast." He held up a tray filled with orange juice, toast, cinnamon rolls, and a mini box of cereal.

"Oh… thanks. Uh, you can come in… if you want." Kairi said opening up the doorway for Sora to come in. Sora nodded in thanks and sat the tray on the wooden table. He glanced at her bed and saw the snow globe on the drawer. He smirked.

"What time is it?" Kairi asked scratching her head. She looked over at the microwave and saw it was 9:01. She widened her eyes, but then shot a glare at the brunette. "Why so early?"

"It's the last day here and we leave in the morning. We need to enjoy the day!" Sora said enthusiastically. Kairi placed the blanket down back on the bed and Sora noticed all she was wearing were very, very short shorts and a tank top with a strawberry on top, causing him to blush.

"Well… we've kind of done everything there is to do, Sora… Traverse Town wasn't the best place to go for Spring break," Kairi stated. Sora looked down. She had a point.

"Hey, wait, don't we have tourist logs in our hotel rooms?" Sora asked adding hope to his voice. Kairi nodded and pointed to her dresser. Sitting down on the bed, Sora grabbed the booklet and sat comfortably on her bed. "Hmm, it seems as though we've done most of this…"

Kairi walked over and sat next to Sora, getting comfy on the side of his arm. Sora blushing, he turned the page and something caught his eye. "Hey, have we gone bowling?" He asked scratching his head.

Kairi's eyes lit up. "I don't think so! We should do that! It says it's a perfect teen hangout. " She jumped off the bed and headed towards the closet. "I need something cute… maybe I'll find a cute guy." She mumbled, but it was loud enough for Sora to hear causing him to frown. But to her disappointment, she opened the closet with nothing in it. She sweat dropped. "Oh… well then… Sora?"

He looked up and she was giving him a mischievous look. "Uh… what?"

"Shopping!"

* * *

"Kairi, seriously, just stick with the pink skirt. It's adorable. Really." Sora said with his hands in his face. They've been at this for an hour now. All he wanted was to go bowling.

"Ugh but the red one is so cute! But it's so short… I don't want to attract a perv. I mean, what would you think if I just went up to you like this." Sora looked up to see Kairi walking over to him slowly. His eyes widened. _What the hell, Kairi, what are you doing?_ Sora thought.

When Kairi approached him, she took a seat in Sora's lap and put both of her hands on his cheeks. Sora couldn't breathe. _Is this the moment that I've been wait-_

"See? I don't want to seem like a slut, so if I were to ever approach a guy like this with this skirt, that just makes it seem like it."

_DAMNIT._

Kairi got off his lap. "The pink one it is!"

The shop bell rang and they both looked up to see a teen boy who was around their age, maybe older entering the store. He smirked at the store clerk and gave her a nod. Sora leaned into Kairi, "Isn't this a girl store…?" Kairi nodded, slightly worried.

The store clerk eyed the boy. "Are you… here for something for your girlfriend?" She asked, but he ignored her, keeping his attention on Kairi. Her heart started to pound. _Why does this keep happening? _Kairi panicked.

"Hi, there. I saw you walk in here and Iwas.. Blinded by your beauty." Sora scoffed and rolled his eyes. The boy glared at him, but shot his attention at Kairi once again.

Kairi backed away. "U-um…"

"Kairi, is this guy bothering you?" Sora asked, putting an arm around her. She looked up to him with confusion, but in his eyes, she saw what he was going with.

"Um, not really, but… yes," Kairi said leaning into Sora.

"Really? This is your boyfriend?" The guy asked. Kairi flushed. She hadn't heard this question in what seemed like years. She almost wanted the fake answer to be the truth. She nodded. "Uh, yeah, sure."

"Do you want proof?" Sora said with confidence. Their stranger crossed his arms and nodded. Sora took out his wallet and opened it to the second flip of pictures. "There."

The boy leaned in and saw a picture, widening his eyes, and then glaring. "Fine. You aren't even that pretty anyway." Sora's rage built once he left. Kairi took his wallet and looked at the picture he showed him. It was the picture of them on the beach, kissing.

"Wh-why do you still have this?" Kairi asked.

Sora furrowed his eyebrows. "No reason." He grabbed the skirt from her hands and took up to the counter. Without even asking Kairi, he paid for the skirt and walked out of the store. "Sora, wait!" He turned around. "Why are you so mad?" She asked, taking the bag from him.

"You _are_ pretty, though." Sora said looking at the ground. Kairi blushed.

"What?"

"He said you weren't even that pretty. Why would anyone say that? It hurts me at how pretty you are. I just… ugh!" He threw his hands up. "That just pisses me off."

Kairi frowned. "Thank you, Sora… Hey, it's almost five, we should get to the bowling alley now." Sora nodded and put a hand on the small of her back and letting her lead the way.

* * *

"Alright, we got team Sokai and team Namixas!" Namine cheered happily. Sora and Kairi blushed looking at each and taking a huge step away from one another.

"Namine… stop with the shipper names. You and your fan fictions…" Roxas said sighing. Namine punched his arm, causing Roxas to flinch and bite his lip. "Just start the game…" Roxas said walking away clutching his arm. Namine smiled widely and grabbed her purple bowling bowl.

Roxas sighed and took a seat next to Sora. "She's so cute… look at her! Look at my little Nami! She's so petite but she's so fierce." Sora rolled his eyes.

"Get off of me." Roxas stuck his tongue out and watched Namine roll her ball. Suddenly, she sat on the floor. "Nam, what the hell are you doing?" Sora asked.

"SSH! It'll make it!" Namine said staring intently at the ball. It finally reached the pins and she got a perfect score. "YES!" She turned around and Roxas held out a hand for her, helping her up. "Take that, Sokai."

"Kairi, are we really going to let them kick our asses?" Sora asked crossing his arms.

"No! I didn't buy a cute dress just to lose!" Kairi said confidently. Sora cut in, "Um, Kai, I bought the-"

"Let's start!" Kairi walked over to the ball return and grabbed her hot pink ball.

"You got this, Kai. You can do it. Absolutely no pressure. You got this. Just keep your eyes on the pins. Be the ball, Kairi, be the-"

"SHUT UP!" She yelled, interrupting Sora. Taking a huge swing back, Kairi let her bowl go in the alley and watched it intently as it rolled down. Just like Namine, she got all pins. Kairi jumped up and down. "YES!"

Roxas sighed. "We're gonna be here a while."

About an hour and a half had passed and Roxas and Namine were in the lead by 2 points. Kairi was at the snack bar buying nachos for the whole gang when suddenly she heard a familiar voice.

"Hi, can I get a Paupo juice please? Thank you." Kairi blinked wide-eyed and was hesitant to say anything. She twiddled her thumbs and looked everywhere besides that person.

"Kairi?"

She looked over at the voice and pretended to look surprised. "Riku! Oh my gosh!" Kairi ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck.

Sora looked over at the commotion and his heart sank.

"What are you doing here?" Kairi asked happily. "Well my dad's friend owns a restaurant here so I've been working here all Spring break," Riku said scratching his head. He had long silver hair that covered his turquoise-like eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless yellow vest that zipped with a white v-neck underneath. Below were dark boot cut jeans along with beat up old black converse.

"Wow, that's great. I've been here for a couple of days, actually," Kairi said nervously, putting a piece of hair behind her ear.

"With who?" Riku asked, walking closer to her, and Kairi the same.

"U-uh… Roxas and Namine," Kairi said, but then sighed. "And Sora."

"Wow. That's, uh… Awkward." Kairi looked up to see him smirking. "Cute bowling outfit by the way."

"Sora, just let it go," Roxas said placing a hand on Sora's shoulders.

"That guy is a total ass, Roxas. Why is she flirting with him?" Sora raged. For the past 10 minutes, Sora just saw there, taking a small glance at the couple every now and then. Even though they weren't dating, it still hurt him to see her flirting.

"Actually, he's pretty nice-" Roxas shot Namine a glare. She widened her eyes and shut up because she knew she wasn't making the situation any better. "Sora, I don't want you to feel any worse or anything, but the feeling you have right now is what Kairi felt when you… left."

**_Kair's POV:_**

_When I walked into the school, I automatically regretted it. I did not want to be here. At all. But I did want to know why the hell Sora left me like that. I wasn't just sad, I was pissed now. Why didn't he have the balls to tell me in person that he didn't want to be with me anymore?_

_I saw Roxas and Namine holding hands at her locker, so that was my first chance to find out where the ass was. "Hey, have you seen Sora?" _

_Namine looked up to me with sympathetic eyes. "Hey, Kai. How are you-"_

"_Where's Sora?" Cut the crap, Nam. I didn't want any sympathy right now. _

"_Um, I think he's at his locker," Roxas answered for her. I nodded in thanks and headed upstairs. I could feel my heart pounding. I was ready to face him. I was ready to take him down. But I think part of me wanted to go back into his arms and just be in love again. _

_I reached the corner of the hall and immediately saw his brown spikes. I took a deep breath and walked forward. "Sora." _

_He looked up and his eyes widened. "Um, Kairi-"_

"_Everything was fine, Sora. Why did you leave?" _

"_Kairi, I-"_

"_Just tell me, Sora! We love each other and we were happy! Just give me that back!" I cried. _

"_Kairi, I just… lost…" Oh god. Please don't say it. "My feelings… for you…" _

_I wanted to just sink down in the floor and cry. I felt pathetic. "Wh… why? We had it perfect, Sora." But then something made me question. "Is there another girl?"_

"_No, no. Not that. I would never cheat on a girl, Kai. I just… need some time, okay?" He said. He was making no eye contact. It was pissing me off, but the hurt in my heart was blocking that. _

_And I don't know what made me do this, but I kind of slapped him in the face. Really hard. _

_Sora clutched his cheek in pain, looking down at the floor. "Don't talk to me." And I walked away. I didn't really care if I got detention or not, but I walked to my dorm. The tears started to swell up. A couple of people asked what's wrong, but I just ignored them. When I opened the door, I slammed it as hard as I could, and once my head hit the pillow, loud sobs came out of my mouth. _

_I lost my first love, and I truly did not want to let him go. I wanted to go back to him and kiss him and tell him, "Yes, you do have feelings for me." But no… that would only be a fantasy. _

_But right now, I had to deal with reality. _

"So where do you want to hang out next week?" Sora heard Riku say.

"That's it," Sora said, pushing Roxas out of the way.

"Um…" Kairi started to answer Riku's question but was soon interrupted.

"Really, Kairi? Him? So is this like, a trap or something?" Sora frustratingly asked.

Kairi gave him a death glare. "Sora, what-"

"You're all lovely dovey with me and then five minutes later I see you flirting with this douche?"

"Hey, that was uncalled-" Riku started, but was cut off.

"Kairi, you need to make up your mind. I know I may have broken your heart, and I know you will never forgive me for that, but just know that what I said that day wasn't true. And you know what I mean when say that."

Sora grabbed his jacket and fled the bowling alley. In full speed, Sora ran back to his hotel room.

The minute he reached his room, he slammed the door and leaned against it. "GOD DAMNIT!" He yelled at no one. Angry tears started to swell in his eyes. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Oh, what now? Is Death here?" He angrily opened the door to reveal a crimson headed girl. And the next thing that happened shocked the hell out of him.

Kairi came into his room, slammed his door, and shoved him against the wall. "What? Are you going to abuse me now?" Well, far from it.

She planted a fiery kiss on Sora's lips.

His eyes widened in shock. His heart pounded loudly which Kairi could most likely feel considering her hands were all over his chest. _Just go with it, _Sora told himself. He put his hands tightly around her waist and brought her closer. She arched her back, bringing them even more together. "Oh God…" Sora whispered out of breath. _She has no idea how long I've wanted this. Wanted her. He planted kisses along her collarbone and neck, letting her catch her breath. _

Sora picked her up and brought her over to his bed, not breaking their kiss, but once lightning stroke outside, Kairi screamed.

"It's okay, Kairi, I'm right here," Sora said, kissing her forehead.

* * *

**Hehe um... hi there everybody... How have you been? Been a while, eh?**

**I'M SO SORRY. I just had... no motivation to write those three months. I don't even know why. But I promise I'll update a lot more. It's summer now! But for this story, there's only the next chapter and then an epilogue left. Enjoy it while you can! I love you guys and thanks for staying with me. **


End file.
